Pheromone turns on goat brains

摘要

Researchers have pinpointed a molecule produced by male goats that activates reproduction in females outside of their normal breeding season. Yukari Takeuchi at the University of Tokyo and her colleagues used a special cap to capture 18 different pheromone molecules emitted from the heads of male goats. They then exposed females to the molecules, and used implanted electrodes to monitor activity in a brain region that regulates reproduction. One molecule, 4-ethyloctanal, triggered the biggest response of all the compounds tested.