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

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Abstract
The experiments reported here show that the deficits in male hamster mating behavior that follow removal of the vomeronasal organ (Meredith, 1986) cannot be mimicked by palatal damage or suture of the nasopalatine ducts (which connect the nasal and oral cavities). A recent report (Mackay-Sim and Rose, 1986) concluded that deficits in mating behavior in female hamsters could be caused either by removal of the vomeronasal organ or by suture of the nasopalatine ducts. In the experiments reported here, removal of the vomeronasal organs produced severe deficits in about 40% of sexually naive male hamsters, supporting previous conclusions (Meredith, 1986) that vomeronasal organ damage before sexual experience is particularly debilitating for male hamsters. Mating behavior as measured here was not impaired in animals with nasopalatine ducts sutured bilaterally, or in animals with palatal surgery alone (sham vomeronasal organ removal).

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