Effect of putative pheromones on the electrical activity of the human vomeronasal organ and olfactory epithelium - PubMed

Effect of putative pheromones on the electrical activity of the human vomeronasal organ and olfactory epithelium

L Monti-Bloch et al. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 1991 Oct.

Abstract

The summated receptor potential was recorded from the vomeronasal organ (VNO) and olfactory epithelium (OE) of 49 human subjects of both sexes (18 to 55 years old) using surface non-polarizable silver-silver chloride electrodes. 15-25 pg of human putative pheromones, clove oil and a diluent were administered to the VNO or the OE in 0.3-1 s pulses from a 0.05 mm dia cannula connected to a multichannel delivery system. Local stimulation of the VNO produces negative potentials of 1.8-11.6 mV showing adaptation. Responses are not obtained when the recording electrode is placed in the nasal respiratory mucosa. Pheromone ER-830 significantly stimulates the male VNO (P less than 0.01; n = 20), while ER-670 produces a significant effect on female subjects (P less than 0.001; n = 20). The other pheromones tested do not show significantly different effects in both male and female (P greater than 0.1). Similar quantities of odorant or diluent produce an insignificant effect on the VNO. Stimulation of the OE with clove oil produces depolarization of 12.3 +/- 3.9 mV, while pheromones do not show a significant effect. Our results show that the VNO is a functional organ in adult humans having receptor sites for human putative pheromones.

Similar articles

• The human vomeronasal system.

  Monti-Bloch L, Jennings-White C, Dolberg DS, Berliner DL. Monti-Bloch L, et al. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1994;19(5-7):673-86. doi: 10.1016/0306-4530(94)90049-3. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1994. PMID: 7938363

• Pheromone-induced second messenger signaling in the hamster vomeronasal organ.

  Kroner C, Breer H, Singer AG, O'Connell RJ. Kroner C, et al. Neuroreport. 1996 Nov 25;7(18):2989-92. doi: 10.1097/00001756-199611250-00038. Neuroreport. 1996. PMID: 9116225

• The expression of androstenone receptor (OR7D4) in vomeronasal organ and olfactory epithelium of horses.

  Choi Y, Yoon M. Choi Y, et al. Domest Anim Endocrinol. 2021 Jan;74:106535. doi: 10.1016/j.domaniend.2020.106535. Epub 2020 Aug 6. Domest Anim Endocrinol. 2021. PMID: 32896801

• Sex pheromone systems in goldfish: comparisons to vomeronasal systems in tetrapods.

  Dulka JG. Dulka JG. Brain Behav Evol. 1993;42(4-5):265-80. doi: 10.1159/000114166. Brain Behav Evol. 1993. PMID: 8252378 Review.

• Facts, fallacies, fears, and frustrations with human pheromones.

  Wysocki CJ, Preti G. Wysocki CJ, et al. Anat Rec A Discov Mol Cell Evol Biol. 2004 Nov;281(1):1201-11. doi: 10.1002/ar.a.20125. Anat Rec A Discov Mol Cell Evol Biol. 2004. PMID: 15470677 Review.

Cited by

• Are pheromones detected through the main olfactory epithelium?

  Wang Z, Nudelman A, Storm DR. Wang Z, et al. Mol Neurobiol. 2007 Jun;35(3):317-23. doi: 10.1007/s12035-007-0014-1. Mol Neurobiol. 2007. PMID: 17917120 Review.

• The vomeronasal organ in the human embryo, studied by means of three-dimensional computer reconstruction.

  Sherwood RJ, McLachlan JC, Aiton JF, Scarborough J. Sherwood RJ, et al. J Anat. 1999 Oct;195 ( Pt 3)(Pt 3):413-8. doi: 10.1046/j.1469-7580.1999.19530413.x. J Anat. 1999. PMID: 10580856 Free PMC article.

• The vomeronasal organ and chemical sensitivity: a hypothesis.

  Greene GJ, Kipen HM. Greene GJ, et al. Environ Health Perspect. 2002 Aug;110 Suppl 4(Suppl 4):655-61. doi: 10.1289/ehp.02110s4655. Environ Health Perspect. 2002. PMID: 12194902 Free PMC article. Review.

• The vomeronasal organ is not involved in the perception of endogenous odors.

  Frasnelli J, Lundström JN, Boyle JA, Katsarkas A, Jones-Gotman M. Frasnelli J, et al. Hum Brain Mapp. 2011 Mar;32(3):450-60. doi: 10.1002/hbm.21035. Hum Brain Mapp. 2011. PMID: 20578170 Free PMC article.

• A scent of romance: human putative pheromone affects men's sexual cognition.

  Oren C, Peled-Avron L, Shamay-Tsoory SG. Oren C, et al. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2019 Jul 31;14(7):719-726. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsz051. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2019. PMID: 31309986 Free PMC article.

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources

• Other Literature Sources

  • The Lens - Patent Citations Database