Whitten effect
Encyclopedia
The Whitten effect is a phenomenon observed by Wesley K. Whitten (1956, 1966, 1968), whereby male mouse pheromone
-laden urine synchronizes the estrus cycle "among unisexually grouped females."
Although there is similarity with the McClintock effect
, the latter does not posit a role for male pheromones. In addition, there is little evidence for a functioning vomeronasal system (thought to be the sensory organ that initiates the Bruce, Vandenbergh, and Whitten effects) in humans. These differences, in putative stimulus and neural pathway (as well as species observed), stringently distinguishes the Whitten and McClintock effects.
By contrast, the Lee–Boot effect observed in female mice does the opposite; when female mice housed together and isolated from males their estrous cycle gradually decreases.
Pheromone
A pheromone is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual...
-laden urine synchronizes the estrus cycle "among unisexually grouped females."
Although there is similarity with the McClintock effect
McClintock effect
Menstrual synchrony is a phenomenon reported in 1971 wherein the menstrual cycles of women who lived together reportedly became synchronized over time...
, the latter does not posit a role for male pheromones. In addition, there is little evidence for a functioning vomeronasal system (thought to be the sensory organ that initiates the Bruce, Vandenbergh, and Whitten effects) in humans. These differences, in putative stimulus and neural pathway (as well as species observed), stringently distinguishes the Whitten and McClintock effects.
By contrast, the Lee–Boot effect observed in female mice does the opposite; when female mice housed together and isolated from males their estrous cycle gradually decreases.