Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
A pheromone (from Ancient Greek φέρω (phérō) 'to bear' and hormone) is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavior of the receiving individuals. [1]
Behavioral evidence suggests that these fluid-phase stimuli often function as pheromones, although pheromones can also be detected by the main olfactory system. In the accessory olfactory system, stimuli are detected by the vomeronasal organ, located in the vomer, between the nose and the mouth. Snakes use it to smell prey, sticking their ...
Each pheromone signal can elicit a distinct response based on the gender and social status of the recipient. [64] In insects, sex pheromones can be detected in very minute concentrations in the environment. Insect sex pheromones, usually released by the female to lure a male, are vital in the process by which insects locate each other for ...
Many of these chemicals are pheromones, acting like hormones outside the body. Among the many functions of chemical communication are attracting mates, aggregating conspecific individuals of both sexes, deterring other individuals from approaching, announcing a new food source, marking a trail, recognizing nest-mates, marking territory and ...
The pheromones are usually produced as a liquid and are either transmitted by direct contact or released into the environment as a liquid or vapor. They can be either heavy or light volatile. Diffusivity significantly affects the function of the pheromone. [57] Alarm pheromones are often highly volatile to spread quickly by diffusion.
Garter snakes also use the vomeronasal organ in pheromone communication. Odors and vomodors should be distinguished. Odors are chemicals detected by the sensory cells in the nasal epithelium through the process of olfaction. Vomodors are chemicals detected by the sensory cells from the vomeronasal organ through the process of vomerolfaction. [29]
Pheromones have evolved in all animal phyla, to signal sex and dominance status, and are responsible for stereotypical social and sexual behaviour among members of the same species. In mammals, these chemical signals are believed to be detected primarily by the vomeronasal organ (VNO), a chemosensory organ located at the base of the nasal septum .
Olfactory sensory neurons in the epithelium detect odor molecules dissolved in the mucus and transmit information about the odor to the brain in a process called sensory transduction. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] Olfactory neurons have cilia (tiny hairs) containing olfactory receptors that bind to odor molecules, causing an electrical response that spreads ...