Author Correction: Female mouse tears contain an anti-aggression pheromone.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Female mouse tears contain an anti-aggression pheromone.

Tears contain pheromones that trigger specific behavioral responses. In the mouse, male tear fluid is involved in long and short-term effects such as the receptive behavior and pregnancy block in females and the aggression in males. In contrast, pup tears exert an inhibitory effect on male mating behavior, also promoting sexual rejection in females.

In-vivo activation of vomeronasal neurons shows adaptive responses to pheromonal stimuli.

In most mammals, the vomeronasal system has a pivotal role in mediating socio-sexual behaviours. The vomeronasal organ senses pheromones through the activation of specific receptors. Pheromone binding to cognate receptors activates Ca-influx via the gating of a cation channel that generates membrane depolarisation.

Evolution of spatially coexpressed families of type-2 vomeronasal receptors in rodents.

The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is an olfactory structure for the detection of pheromones. VNO neurons express three groups of unrelated G-protein-coupled receptors. Type-2 vomeronasal receptors (V2Rs) are specifically localized in the basal neurons of the VNO and are believed to sense protein pheromones eliciting specific reproductive behaviors.

A recent class of chemosensory neurons developed in mouse and rat.

In most animal species, the vomeronasal organ ensures the individual recognition of conspecifics, a prerequisite for a successful reproduction. The vomeronasal organ expresses several receptors for pheromone detection. Mouse vomeronasal type-2 receptors (V2Rs) are restricted to the basal neurons of this organ and organized in four families.