Higher order connections of the accessory olfactory system and reproductive functions

HIGHER ORDER CONNECTIONS OF THE ACCESSORY OLFACTORY SYSTEM AND REPRODUCTIVE FUNCTIONS 

Olfaction plays an important role in sexual behavior in many animals. Macrosomatic animals have a highly developed ability to use olfaction for identifying sexual partners, enemies and food i.e.. these animals use olfaction for survival and continuation of the species. The linkage between reproductive behavior and olfaction is not as strong in humans but we may still possess the neural hardware tying odors to sexual arousal and certainly the profit and loss statements of the fragrance industry attests to a key role of olfaction in human sex drives. 

In macrosomatic animals, the AOB is believed to be involved in processing pheromones that are initially transduced by vomeronasal neurons, which project to the AOB. The AOB projects to the anteromedial (MeAa) and posterior cortical (CoAp) nuclei of the amygdala, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and the bed nucleus of the accessory olfactory tract (De Olmos et al. 1978 Scalia and Winans, 1975 Shipley and Adamek, 

Recent research has utilized the cell activation marker properties of c-fos, an immediate-early gene, to demonstrate the specificity and pathways of the accessory olfactory system. For example, social odors activate cells in AOB (Schellinck et al. 1993) and, more specifically, central nuclei of the accessory olfactory system regulate species specific mating behavior (Fiber et al. 1993). The complexity of olfactory and somatosensory 

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