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‘ We humans use our sense of smell more than we think . It ’ s more unconscious , and a little bit taboo – we are not very comfortable with it – but there is more and more evidence that smell is important in social behaviours .’
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MICE
Dr Roux is principal investigator of sociOlfa , a project looking at how a mouse brain processes chemosignals when it encounters a new individual , and then uses them to create memories .
‘ Mice interact a lot by smelling the different body parts of other mice , and the nature of the smell will carry rich information ( such as ) the social status of the other individual ,’ said Dr Roux .
Animals use scent to mark – and detect – territory . In experimental conditions , if two mice fight , the one that wins will mark an area with its scent using urine . The subordinate one will also release a scent but only in one spot .
‘ A dominant mouse will have specific molecules to indicate they are dominant ones . And a sick animal will have signs of sickness within this odour mixture ,’ she said .
Female mice use scent to select a mate – usually preferring an unfamiliar male possibly because it promotes genetic diversity , says Dr Roux .
‘ For me it ’ s a ( form of ) language . It ’ s a way to communicate important information within a social group , important to maintain the hierarchy within the group , and it ’ s very important for reproduction ,’ said Dr Roux .
Studying how mouse brains process chemosignals will help researchers understand general principles of how their brains form social memories , says Dr Roux .
And the results may be relevant in people too . Understanding how the mouse brain processes chemosignals during social interactions and when forming memories of an individual could help scientists identify what happens when these functions go wrong - for example , in mouse models of autism .
Eventually this could also help scientists understand what happens in people whose ability to recognise others is impaired – for example those with Alzheimer ’ s – or those who have difficulties with social interactions caused by autism .
‘ We humans use our sense of smell more than we think . It ’ s more unconscious , and a little bit taboo – we are not very comfortable with it – but there is more and more evidence that smell is important in social behaviours .’
~ Dr Roux .
This article was originally published in : Horizon , the EU Research and Innovation magazine . Read the original article .