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Processing of intraspecific chemical signals in the rodent brain

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Abstract

In the rodent brain, the central processing of ecologically relevant chemical stimuli involves many different areas located at various levels within the neuraxis: the main and accessory olfactory bulbs, some nuclei in the amygdala, the hypothalamus, and brainstem. These areas allow the integration of the chemosensory stimuli with other sensory information and the selection of the appropriate neurohormonal and behavioral response. This review is a brief introduction to the processing of intraspecific chemosensory stimuli beyond the secondary projection, focusing on the activity of the relevant amygdala and hypothalamic nuclei, namely the medial amygdala and ventromedial hypothalamus. These areas are involved in the appropriate interpretation of chemosensory information and drive the selection of the proper response, which may be behavioral or hormonal and may affect the neural activity of other areas in the telencephalon and brainstem.

Recent data support the notion that the processing of intraspecific chemical signals is not unique to one chemosensory system and some molecules may activate both the main and the accessory olfactory system. Moreover, both these systems have mixed projections and cooperate for the correct identification of the stimuli and selection of relevant responses.

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Abbreviations

AOB:

Accessory olfactory bulb

GnRH:

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone

LH:

Luteinizing hormone

MOB:

Main olfactory bulb

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Acknowledgments

I express my gratitude to an anonymous Reviewer who greatly contributed in expanding the initial version of this work through positive and proactive comments. I also thank Antonio Caretta for critically reading the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, via Marzolo 3, 35131, Padova, Italy

    Carla Mucignat-Caretta

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  1. Carla Mucignat-Caretta
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Correspondence to Carla Mucignat-Caretta.

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Mucignat-Caretta, C. Processing of intraspecific chemical signals in the rodent brain. Cell Tissue Res 383, 525–533 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-020-03383-7

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