Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25936549›Full record

ArticleCurrent biology : CB2015

Innate Predator Odor Aversion Driven by Parallel Olfactory Subsystems that Converge in the Ventromedial Hypothalamus.

Anabel Pérez-Gómez, Katherin Bleymehl, Benjamin Stein, Martina Pyrski, Lutz Birnbaumer, Steven D Munger, Trese Leinders-Zufall, Frank Zufall, Pablo Chamero

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Current biology : CB, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 91 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
91citing papers in PubMed
10.3field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

91 citing papers in PubMed, 181 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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  3. Reconfiguration of brain-wide neural activity after early life adversity.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
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  4. Reconfiguration of brain-wide neural activity after early life adversity.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Behavioral Assays in the Study of Olfaction.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2025
    Article
  8. Review
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31 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Anabel Pérez-GómezDepartment of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421 Homburg, Germany.
Katherin BleymehlDepartment of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421 Homburg, Germany.
Benjamin SteinDepartment of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421 Homburg, Germany.
Martina PyrskiDepartment of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421 Homburg, Germany.
Lutz BirnbaumerLaboratory of Neurobiology, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA.
Steven D MungerDepartment of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, and Center for Smell and Taste, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
Trese Leinders-ZufallDepartment of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421 Homburg, Germany.
Frank ZufallDepartment of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421 Homburg, Germany. Electronic address: frank.zufall@uks.eu.
Pablo ChameroDepartment of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421 Homburg, Germany.
Saarland University · DENational Institute of Environmental Health Sciences · USUniversity of Florida · US

Funding

Transmembrane Signaling MechanismsZ01ES101643 · NIEHS · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES · PI BIRNBAUMER, LUTZ · 2003 to 2008
$5.1M
Transduction mechanisms and CNS targets of GC-D neuronsR01DC005633 · NIDCD · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · PI MUNGER, STEVEN D · 2003 to 2014
$3.5M
Intramural NIH HHS Z01 ES101643NIDCD NIH HHS DC005633NIDCD NIH HHS R01 DC005633NIEHS NIH HHS Z01 ES-101643
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The existence of innate predator aversion evoked by predator-derived chemostimuli called kairomones offers a strong selective advantage for potential prey animals. However, it is unclear how chemically diverse kairomones can elicit similar avoidance behaviors. Using a combination of behavioral analyses and single-cell Ca(2+) imaging in wild-type and gene-targeted mice, we show that innate predator-evoked avoidance is driven by parallel, non-redundant processing of volatile and nonvolatile kairomones through the activation of multiple olfactory subsystems including the Grueneberg ganglion, the vomeronasal organ, and chemosensory neurons within the main olfactory epithelium. Perturbation of chemosensory responses in specific subsystems through disruption of genes encoding key sensory transduction proteins (Cnga3, Gnao1) or by surgical axotomy abolished avoidance behaviors and/or cellular Ca(2+) responses to different predator odors. Stimulation of these different subsystems resulted in the activation of widely distributed target regions in the olfactory bulb, as assessed by c-Fos expression. However, in each case, this c-Fos increase was observed within the same subnuclei of the medial amygdala and ventromedial hypothalamus, regions implicated in fear, anxiety, and defensive behaviors. Thus, the mammalian olfactory system has evolved multiple, parallel mechanisms for kairomone detection that converge in the brain to facilitate a common behavioral response. Our findings provide significant insights into the genetic substrates and circuit logic of predator-driven innate aversion and may serve as a valuable model for studying instinctive fear and human emotional and panic disorders.

Indexed as

OdorantsAnimalsAvoidance LearningBehavior, AnimalCyclic Nucleotide-Gated Cation ChannelsGangliaGTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gi-GoHypothalamusMaleMice, Inbred C57BLMice, Mutant StrainsOlfactory BulbPhenethylaminesPheromonesPredatory BehaviorProto-Oncogene Proteins c-fosCnga3 protein, mouseCyclic Nucleotide-Gated Cation ChannelsGTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gi-GophenethylaminePhenethylaminesPheromonesProto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos

Identifiers

PMID25936549
PMCPMC4439360
OpenAlexW2071411229

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.