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Pregnancy modulates responses to male odors in house mice.

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Title: Pregnancy modulates responses to male odors in house mice.
Authors: Miller CH; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA; Department of Psychology, UCSD, San Diego, CA, USA. Electronic address: cam026@ucsd.edu., Reichard TM; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA., Yang J; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA., Carlson-Clarke B; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA., Vogt CC; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA., Warden MR; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA., Sheehan MJ; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. Electronic address: msheehan@cornell.edu.
Source: Hormones and behavior [Horm Behav] 2025 Oct; Vol. 175, pp. 105802. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Aug 08.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Language: English
Journal Info: Publisher: Academic Press Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0217764 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1095-6867 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 0018506X NLM ISO Abbreviation: Horm Behav Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Original Publication: New York, London, Academic Press.
MeSH Terms: Sexual Behavior, Animal*/physiology , Smell*/physiology , Odorants*, Behavior, Animal/physiology ; Animals ; Female ; Male ; Mice ; Pregnancy ; Pheromones ; Social Behavior
Abstract: Pregnancy induces widespread physiological and behavioral changes, yet its impact on social decision-making remains poorly understood. Here, we show that reproductive status modulates female responses to male odors in house mice, revealing striking status-specific behavioral patterns. Estrous females displayed attraction to novel male odors, consistent with a motivation to mate. In contrast, pregnant females exhibited strong aversion - an anticipatory shift likely aimed at avoiding future infanticidal males. This status-dependent approach-avoidance response was recapitulated to the male urinary pheromone darcin, highlighting its robustness as a male signal. These findings suggest that reproductive status modulates odor-driven decision-making, balancing mating opportunities with offspring protection. This shift is likely mediated by hormonal fluctuations such as rising progesterone and estrogen, that act on neural circuits involved in olfaction, threat detection, and social motivation. Behavioral responses were further shaped by the richness and context of social odors, supporting combinatorial processing of urinary pheromones. This aligns with mechanisms such as stud odor imprinting and self-referential matching for inbreeding avoidance. Overall, our results point to anticipatory behavioral adaptations during pregnancy that prepare females for the challenges of motherhood.
(Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier Inc.)
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing interests.
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: Darcin; Estrus/estrous; Major urinary proteins (MUPs); Pheromones; Preference; Pregnancy; Social odor
Substance Nomenclature: 0 (Pheromones)
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20250809 Date Completed: 20250926 Latest Revision: 20250926
Update Code: 20260130
DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2025.105802
PMID: 40782468
Database: MEDLINE
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  Data: Pregnancy modulates responses to male odors in house mice.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Miller+CH%22">Miller CH</searchLink>; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA; Department of Psychology, UCSD, San Diego, CA, USA. Electronic address: cam026@ucsd.edu.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Reichard+TM%22">Reichard TM</searchLink>; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Yang+J%22">Yang J</searchLink>; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Carlson-Clarke+B%22">Carlson-Clarke B</searchLink>; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Vogt+CC%22">Vogt CC</searchLink>; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Warden+MR%22">Warden MR</searchLink>; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Sheehan+MJ%22">Sheehan MJ</searchLink>; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. Electronic address: msheehan@cornell.edu.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Sexual+Behavior%2C+Animal%22">Sexual Behavior, Animal*</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Sexual+Behavior%2C+Animal+physiology%22">physiology</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Smell%22">Smell*</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Smell+physiology%22">physiology</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Odorants%22">Odorants*</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Behavior%2C+Animal%22">Behavior, Animal</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Behavior%2C+Animal+physiology%22">physiology</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Animals%22">Animals</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Female%22">Female</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Male%22">Male</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Mice%22">Mice</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Pregnancy%22">Pregnancy</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Pheromones%22">Pheromones</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Social+Behavior%22">Social Behavior</searchLink>
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  Data: Pregnancy induces widespread physiological and behavioral changes, yet its impact on social decision-making remains poorly understood. Here, we show that reproductive status modulates female responses to male odors in house mice, revealing striking status-specific behavioral patterns. Estrous females displayed attraction to novel male odors, consistent with a motivation to mate. In contrast, pregnant females exhibited strong aversion - an anticipatory shift likely aimed at avoiding future infanticidal males. This status-dependent approach-avoidance response was recapitulated to the male urinary pheromone darcin, highlighting its robustness as a male signal. These findings suggest that reproductive status modulates odor-driven decision-making, balancing mating opportunities with offspring protection. This shift is likely mediated by hormonal fluctuations such as rising progesterone and estrogen, that act on neural circuits involved in olfaction, threat detection, and social motivation. Behavioral responses were further shaped by the richness and context of social odors, supporting combinatorial processing of urinary pheromones. This aligns with mechanisms such as stud odor imprinting and self-referential matching for inbreeding avoidance. Overall, our results point to anticipatory behavioral adaptations during pregnancy that prepare females for the challenges of motherhood.<br /> (Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier Inc.)
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  Data: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing interests.
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  Data: <i>Keywords: </i>Darcin; Estrus/estrous; Major urinary proteins (MUPs); Pheromones; Preference; Pregnancy; Social odor
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        Value: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2025.105802
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        StartPage: 105802
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      – SubjectFull: Behavior, Animal physiology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Animals
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Female
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Male
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      – SubjectFull: Mice
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      – SubjectFull: Pregnancy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pheromones
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social Behavior
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sexual Behavior, Animal physiology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Smell physiology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Odorants
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      – TitleFull: Pregnancy modulates responses to male odors in house mice.
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              Text: 2025 Oct
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