Abstract
Responses to the odor of familiar intruder male mice according to their dominance were investigated. Responses were classified into 2 aspects: the investigation of the odor and the decision-making regarding avoiding it or not. The results varied according to the dominance of the respondents and the odor donor, and also according to the context of previous encounter situations. The dominants that had attacked an intruder dominant mouse responded randomly to its odor, whereas the dominants that had fought with it tended to avoid the odor. The subordinates that had observed an intruder dominant mouse being attacked by its dominant cagemate preferred the passage with the intruder's odor. The odor of a subordinate mouse was neither avoided nor preferred by either the dominants or subordinates. It was suggested that mice distinguished the dominance of the odor donor regardless of the context of the previous encounter situation, but they responded differently according to it and also according to their own dominance status.
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Koyama, S. Differential response to the odor of familiar intruder mice in male mice (Mus musculus). J. Ethol. 13, 47–56 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02352562
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02352562