Lepri J J, Wysocki C J
Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
Physiol Behav. 1987;40(3):349-55. doi: 10.1016/0031-9384(87)90058-8.
The reproductive system of female prairie voles remains quiescent in the absence of stimulation from males; however, chemosignals from males are capable of at least partially activating female reproduction. In other species, the vomeronasal system mediates some of the reproductive responses of females to males. We found that surgical removal of the vomeronasal organ (VNX) from adult female prairie voles impeded reproductive activation in response to pairing with stud males: ovarian and uterine weights of VNX females paired with stud males for 24 or 60 hours were significantly less than those of normal (NORMAL) or sham-operated (SHAM) females. Furthermore, 8 of 9 NORMAL, 10 of 13 SHAM, but only 4 of 9 VNX females paired with stud males for 60 hours mated. VNX females, however, were still able to use chemosensory cues to locate food. Behavioral observations of females encountering stud males were similar for VNX, SHAM and NORMAL females. We conclude that vomeronasal chemoreception may be a primary component of reproductive activation in female prairie voles, presumably by mediating neuroendocrine responses to chemosignals.
在没有来自雄性的刺激时，雌性草原田鼠的生殖系统处于静止状态；然而，来自雄性的化学信号能够至少部分地激活雌性的生殖功能。在其他物种中，犁鼻系统介导了雌性对雄性的一些生殖反应。我们发现，对成年雌性草原田鼠进行手术切除犁鼻器（VNX）会阻碍其在与种公鼠配对时的生殖激活：与种公鼠配对24小时或60小时的VNX雌性的卵巢和子宫重量显著低于正常（NORMAL）或假手术（SHAM）雌性。此外，9只正常雌性中有8只、13只假手术雌性中有10只，但9只VNX雌性中只有4只与种公鼠配对60小时后交配。然而，VNX雌性仍然能够利用化学感觉线索来定位食物。VNX、假手术和正常雌性在遇到种公鼠时的行为观察结果相似。我们得出结论，犁鼻化学感受可能是雌性草原田鼠生殖激活的主要组成部分，大概是通过介导对化学信号的神经内分泌反应来实现的。
