Previous research showed that ferrets of both sexes rely on the perception of conspecifics'
body odors to identify and motivate approach towards opposite-sex mating partners, and
exposure to male body odors stimulated Fos expression in an olfactory projection circuit of
female, but not male, ferrets that terminates in the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus
(VMH). We asked whether the female-typical preference of ferrets to approach male as
opposed to female body odors in Y-maze tests would be disrupted by VMH lesions. Sexually …