Vomeronasal damage, not nasopalatine duct damage, produces mating behavior deficits in male hamsters

The experiments reported here show that the deficits in malehamster mating behavior that follow removal of the vomeronasalorgan (Meredith, 1986) cannot be mimicked by palatal damageor suture of the nasopalatine ducts (which connect the nasaland oral cavities). A recent report (Mackay-Sim and Rose, 1986)concluded that deficits in mating behavior in female hamsterscould be caused either by removal of the vomeronasal organ orby suture of the nasopalatine ducts. In the experiments reportedhere, removal of the vomeronasal organs produced severe deficitsin about 40% of sexually naive male hamsters, supporting previousconclusions (Meredith, 1986) that vomeronasal organ damage beforesexual experience is particularly debilitating for male hamsters.Mating behavior as measured here was not impaired in animalswith nasopalatine ducts sutured bilaterally, or in animals withpalatal surgery alone (sham vomeronasal organ removal).