Bruce effect
Efecto Bruce
- Date
- 1959 · confidence high
- Place
- London, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- Hilda Bruce
- Field
- Life & health
What was discovered
A phenomenon in which females of certain rodent species terminate pregnancy on exposure to the scent of an unfamiliar male, described by zoologist Hilda Bruce in laboratory mice.
What it led to
- research into pheromones and chemical communication in mammals
- extension of observations to other rodent species (deer mice, voles)
- unconfirmed proposals of the effect in non-rodent species such as lions
- advances in reproductive endocrinology linked to social behavior