AUTHOR=HACQUEMAND Romain , JACQUOT Laurence , BRAND Gérard 

TITLE=Comparative Fear-Related Behaviors to Predator Odors (TMT and Natural Fox Feces) before and after Intranasal ZnSO4 Treatment in Mice

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience

VOLUME=4

YEAR=2010

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/behavioral-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2010.00188

DOI=10.3389/fnbeh.2010.00188

ISSN=1662-5153

ABSTRACT=<p>The possibility that synthetic 2,4,5-trimethylthiazoline (TMT), frequently used to induce unconditioned fear in rodents, could be more a pungent odor activating intranasal trigeminal nerve fibers rather than a predator odor index is currently discussed. In order to explore this question, the present study compared fear-related behaviors to predator odors (synthetic 10% TMT and natural fox feces) and toluene (as an irritant compound without ecological significance) before and after intranasal ZnSO<sub>4</sub> perfusion which is known to provoke transient anosmia. Results show that natural fox feces could be consider as a pure olfactory (CN I) nerve stimulant while 10% TMT appeared to be a mixed olfactory (CN I) and trigeminal (CN V) nerves stimulant with a great olfactory power and a low trigeminal power. These findings suggest that behavioral neuroscience studies should use concentrations lower than 10% TMT to obtain fear-related behaviors similar to those obtained with natural fox feces odor.</p>