Scientists have found a form of chemical signaling in mice that protects their offspring Researchers from McGill University found , female mice approaching pregnancy and lactation increase stress hormones in male mice and even reduce their sensitivity to pain
"These findings are of great significance to improve the reliability and repeatability of experiments involving mice." Jeffrey mogil, Professor of psychology at McGill University and chairman of E.P. Taylor of pain research, said: "this is another example that previously unknown factors in the laboratory environment can affect the results of scientific research."
According to co-author Sarah Rosen, "what may happen is that female mice are signaling to male mice that may be considering attacking their young that they will vigorously defend them. It is the threat of possible imminent combat that causes stress."
"Mice communicate more with each other than we think; just a lot of it is through smell," mogil said. Researchers began to look for responsible olfactory chemicals. Several odorants were identified, but one of them, amyl acetate, was released in the urine of pregnant and lactating female mice and was particularly effective in generating stress in male mice.
"Strangely, amyl acetate is also the reason for the unique smell of bananas." "After a quick trip to the supermarket to buy some banana oil, we were able to confirm that the smell of banana extract put as much pressure on male mice as pregnant female mice," co-author Lucas Lima said
This discovery represents a breakthrough in mammalian social signaling science. "There are many examples of male to female olfactory signals in rodents, but there are far fewer examples of female to male signals, especially outside the field of sexual behavior," mogil said