# IDENTITY AND NEURAL ENCODING OF SOCIAL ODORS

> **NIH NIH R01** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $324,063

## Abstract

Abstract
“Social odors”―sometimes called “pheromones”―are key regulators of infant feeding,
reproduction, and aggression. Once detected by the sense of smell, these signals act to
modulate the animal's hormonal status. Conversely, steroid metabolites in urine have
emerged as one of the best-understood classes of cues detected by the vomeronasal organ,
one of the principal sensory organs for pheromones. This tight integration between
hormones and olfaction is believed to serve as an “honest signal” in which information about
physiological status is inferred from metabolites of the hormones that control it.
In mammals, the identity of most pheromones remains mysterious. In mice, despite 40 years
of investigation, the principal sex-specific vomeronasal cues in natural stimuli like urine were
controversial or unknown. Recently, my laboratory developed new techniques to perform
large scale unbiased screens for the ligands that activate vomeronasal sensory neurons. Using
these tools and combining them with neurophysiology, endocrine manipulations, and
analysis of behavior, we have identified the first female sex pheromones for the mouse.
With support from the NIH, we propose to identify most or all of the male-specific urinary
cues that activate the vomeronasal organ. Specifically, we propose to (1) purify male-specific
ligands; (2) solve their chemical structures, and (3) identify their pattern of expression and
contributions to two behaviors, the Vandenbergh Effect (puberty acceleration) and the Bruce
Effect (pregnancy block). These aims promise to open new doors in our understanding of the
relationship between sex, olfaction, hormones, and behavior.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9952346
- **Project number:** 5R01DC010381-10
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Timothy Holy
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $324,063
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2009-09-30 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9952346

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9952346, IDENTITY AND NEURAL ENCODING OF SOCIAL ODORS (5R01DC010381-10). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9952346. Licensed CC0.

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