Sex pheromones are not always attractive: changes induced by learning and illness in mice

A male-specific major urinary protein named darcin is attractive to female mice, Mus musculus, stimulates a learned attraction to volatile components of a male's urinary odour and induces spatial learning. In this article we show that darcin also induces learned attraction for a previously neutral olfactory stimulus (the odorant isoamyl acetate), acquired by repeated presentation of both stimuli together. We hypothesize that this is a case of olfactory–vomeronasal associative learning, in which darcin acts as the unconditioned reinforcer. However, the presence of darcin is not always attractive to adult female mice. Urine from males parasitized by the nematode Aspiculuris tetraptera has no …

Corrigendum: Wired for motherhood: induction of maternal care but not maternal aggression in virgin female CD1 mice

Prepulse inhibition can predict the motivational effects of cocaine in female mice exposed to maternal separation

The prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle response can identify the rodents that are more sensitive to the effects of cocaine. Mice with a lower PPI presented a higher vulnerability to the effects of cocaine and a higher susceptibility to developing a substance use disorder (SUD). Maternal separation with early weaning (MSEW) is a relevant animal model to induce motivational alterations throughout life. Nevertheless, only a few studies on females exist, even though they are more vulnerable to stress- and cocaine-related problems. Hence, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the ability of PPI to identify females with a greater vulnerability to the long-term consequences of early s…

Corrigendum: Wired for motherhood: induction of maternal care but not maternal aggression in virgin female CD1 mice

Virgin adult female mice display nearly spontaneous maternal care towards foster pups after a short period of sensitization. This indicates that maternal care is triggered by sensory stimulation provided by the pups and that its onset is largely independent on the physiological events related to gestation, parturition and lactation. Conversely, the factors influencing maternal aggression are poorly understood. In this study, we sought to characterize two models of maternal sensitization in the outbred CD1 strain. To do so, a group of virgin females (godmothers) were exposed to continuous cohabitation with a lactating dam and their pups from the moment of parturition, whereas a second group …