The Grueneberg ganglion (GG), also written as Grüneberg ganglion is an
olfactory
The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste.
In humans, it ...
subsystem located at the entrance of the nasal cavity of
rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...
s. It was first described by
Hans Grüneberg
Hans Grüneberg (26 May 1907 – 23 October 1982), whose name was also written as Hans Grueneberg and Hans Gruneberg, was a British geneticist. Grüneberg was born in Wuppertal–Elberfeld in Germany. He obtained an MD from the University of B ...
in 1973.
It is mainly implicated in the detection of
volatile compounds signaling danger as the
alarm pheromones emitted by stressed conspecifics, but also by several categories of
kairomones
A kairomone (a coinage using the Greek καιρός ''opportune moment'', paralleling pheromone"kairomone, n.". OED Online. September 2012. Oxford University Press. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/241005?redirectedFrom=kairomone (accessed 3 Octobe ...
emitted by the urine of predatory
carnivores. The detection of these compounds by the Grueneberg ganglion induces
fear-behaviors in the receiver.
The Grueneberg ganglion is also activated by
cold temperatures.
See also
*
Pheromone
*
Olfaction
The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste.
In humans, it ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruneberg Ganglion
Olfactory system
Sensory systems
Rodent anatomy