ArticleScientific reports2020
Female mouse tears contain an anti-aggression pheromone.
Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 11 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Odour Profiling for Animal Management and Behavioural Manipulation: An Overview of the Tools and Applications.Journal of chemical ecology · 2026Review
- Male and female mice scent mark during social communication regardless of sexual motivation or partner identity.Cell reports · 2026Article
- Identification and field testing of sex-attractant semiochemicals produced by male deer mice,Royal Society open science · 2024Article
- Improved Memory and Lower Stress Levels in Male Mice Co-Housed with Ovariectomized Female Mice.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Connectivity and molecular profiles of Foxp2- and Dbx1-lineage neurons in the accessory olfactory bulb and medial amygdala.The Journal of comparative neurology · 2024Article
- A chemical signal in human female tears lowers aggression in males.PLoS biology · 2023Article
- The Evanescent Bouquet of Individual Bear Fingerprint.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Olfactory exposure to late-pregnant and lactating mice causes stress-induced analgesia in male mice.Science advances · 2022Article
- At the heart of the interoception network: Influence of the parasubthalamic nucleus on autonomic functions and motivated behaviors.Neuropharmacology · 2022Review
- Habenula as a Neural Substrate for Aggressive Behavior.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Review
- Coding of pheromones by vomeronasal receptors.Cell and tissue research · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Tears contain pheromones that trigger specific behavioral responses. In the mouse, male tear fluid is involved in long and short-term effects such as the receptive behavior and pregnancy block in females and the aggression in males. In contrast, pup tears exert an inhibitory effect on male mating behavior, also promoting sexual rejection in females. In the rat, a male lacrimal protein acts as an intraspecific and heterospecific signal enhancing sexual behavior in females and evoking avoidance behavior in mouse. However, behavioral effects of female tears on male behavior have yet to be described. Here, we report that female lacrimal fluid of different mouse strains contains a relatively small and involatile factor that abolishes inter-male aggression switching it into a copulatory behavior. The production of this molecule by the lacrimal glands is not affected by the estrous cycle but it is sensitive to ovariectomy, thus suggesting a control mediated by hormones. Moreover, this lacrimal anti-aggression pheromone modulates the activity of the lateral habenula, a brain area responsible for the valence of the aggressive interactions.
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