Evidence of a direct projection of the vomeronasal organ to the medial preoptic nucleus and hypothalamus

Abstract

In rodents the vomeronasal system plays an important role in modulating the hypothalamic control of gonadotropin secretion. It is accepted that the anatomical pathways by which the vomeronasal organ influences the neuroendocrine aspects of the reproductive behavior involves a polysynaptic system, including the accessory olfactory bulb, the ‘vomeronasal amygdala’, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and medial preoptic and ventromedial hypothalamic nuclei. We found that 72 h after unilateral transection of the vomeronasal nerves of rats an ipsilateral orthograde degeneration is seen in the neuropil of the medial preoptic, ventromedial, and arcuate hypothalamic nuclei. This represents an anatomical evidence of a monosynaptic link between the vomeronasal neuroepithelium and the medial preoptic nucleus, and hypothalamus.