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The vomeronasal organ or Jacobson's organ is an auxiliary olfactory sense organ in some vertebrates, all of which are
tetrapods. It is located in the vomer bone, between the nose and the mouth. The sensory neurons within
the vomeronasal organ detect distinct chemical compounds, usually
large molecules. Snakes use it to smell prey, sticking their tongue out and touching it to the opening to the organ. Some mammals use a distinctive facial movement called
flehmen to direct compounds to this organ, while in some other mammals the entire
organ contracts or pumps to draw in compounds.
Most animals with a vomeronasal organ utilize it in the detection of pheromones, though some pheromones are detected by the regular olfactory organ, and the vomeronasal organ seems
to detect other compounds in addition to pheromones.
Some scientists believe that in humans the vomeronasal organ is nonfunctional and
regresses before birth, as is the case with some other higher animals, including cetaceans, some bats, and apes and that in
adult humans there is no neural connection between the organ and the brain. Nevertheless some evidence suggests that it does not
atrophy and remains functional throughout a person's life. Thus, its function in these organisms and in humans, if indeed real,
is still somewhat mysterious.
- See also : Nepetalactone
External links
- Neuroscience Program FSU
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