RTI uses cookies to offer you the best experience online. By clicking “accept” on this website, you opt in and you agree to the use of cookies. If you would like to know more about how RTI uses cookies and how to manage them please view our Privacy Policy here. You can “opt out” or change your mind by visiting: http://optout.aboutads.info/. Click “accept” to agree.
Female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) exposed to a single drop of male urine on the upper lip showed changes in concentrations of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) and norepinephrine in olfactory bulb tissue; no such changes occurred in dopamine concentration. The changes were measured in the posterior but not the anterior olfactory bulb tissue of females within 1 hour after they were exposed to urine. These females also showed rapid increases in serum concentrations of luteinizing hormone. Females exposed to water on the upper lip showed none of these changes. These results suggest that in this species LHRH and norepinephrine in the olfactory bulb may mediate luteinizing hormone release in response to external (pheromonal) chemical cues.