「フォースを使え」ミッキー:研究によると、「ジェダイ」のげっ歯類は嗅覚を高めるために音を使って遠隔的に物質を動かすという( ‘Use the force,’ Mickey: Study suggests that ‘Jedi’ rodents remotely move matter using sound to enhance their sense of smell)

2024-10-11 バッファロー大学(UB)

<関連情報>

• https://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2024/10/rodents-sense-of-smell-nose.html
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0149763424003774

げっ歯類は音で匂いを嗅ぐのか? Do rodents smell with sound?

Eduardo Mercado III, Jessica Zhuo
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews  Available online: 27 September 2024
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105908

Highlights

• Rodent vocalizations could contribute to a unique mode of active olfactory sensing.
• Ultrasonic vocalizations may affect how rodents smell by clustering inhaled odorants.
• Coordinating sniffing with sound production might enhance reception of pheromones.

Abstract

Chemosensation via olfaction is a critical process underlying social interactions in many different species. Past studies of olfaction in mammals often have focused on its mechanisms in isolation from other systems, limiting the generalizability of findings from olfactory research to perceptual processes in other modalities. Studies of chemical communication, in particular, have progressed independently of research on vocal behavior and acoustic communication. Those bioacousticians who have considered how sound production and reception might interact with olfaction often portray odors as cues to the kinds of vocalizations that might be functionally useful. In the olfaction literature, vocalizations are rarely mentioned. Here, we propose that ultrasonic vocalizations may affect what rodents smell by altering the deposition of inhaled particles and that rodents coordinate active sniffing with sound production specifically to enhance reception of pheromones. In this scenario, rodent vocalizations may contribute to a unique mode of active olfactory sensing, in addition to whatever roles they serve as social signals. Consideration of this hypothesis highlights the perceptual advantages that parallel coordination of multiple sensorimotor processes may provide to individuals exploring novel situations and environments, especially those involving dynamic social interactions.