Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Imaging Pheromone Sensing in a Mouse Vomeronasal Acute Tissue Slice Preparation
Published on: December 6, 2011
Are pheromones detected through the main olfactory epithelium?
Zhenshan Wang1, Aaron Nudelman, Daniel R Storm
1Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Abstract:
A major sensory organ for the detection of pheromones by animals is the vomeronasal organ (VNO). Although pheromones control the behaviors of various species, the effect of pheromones on human behavior has been controversial because the VNO is not functional in adults. However, recent genetic, biochemical, and electrophysiological data suggest that some pheromone-based behaviors, including male sexual behavior in mice, are mediated through the main olfactory epithelium (MOE) and are coupled to the type 3 adenylyl cyclase (AC3) and a cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) ion channel. These recent discoveries suggest the provocative hypothesis that human pheromones may signal through the MOE.
Related Concept Videos
Physiology of Smell and Olfactory Pathway
The olfactory...
Olfaction
The olfactory receptors are embedded in the cilia of the...
Olfactory Receptors: Location and Structure
Tactile and Chemical Senses
G-Protein Gated Ion Channels
Sensory organs,...
