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Abstract In humans, interpersonal romantic attraction and the subsequent development of monogamous pair-bonds is substantially predicted by influential impressions formed during first encounters. The prosocial neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) has been identified as a key facilitator of both interpersonal attraction and the formation of parental attachment. However, whether OXT contributes to the maintenance of monogamous bonds …

Continue reading “Oxytocin Modulates Social Distance between Males and Females”

Abstract In humans, the volatile C19-steroids androsta-4,16-dien-3-one (AND) and estra-1,3,5(10),16-tetraen-3-ol (EST) have been shown to modulate autonomic nervous system responses, and to cause hypothalamic activation in a gender-specific manner. Using two conditioning paradigms, the authors here show that pigtail macaques and squirrel monkeys of both sexes were able to detect AND and EST at concentrations …

Continue reading “Sex-specific differences in olfactory sensitivity for putative human pheromones in nonhuman primates”

Abstract Social communication by means of odor signals is widespread among mammals. In pigs, for example, the C19-steroids 5-α-androst-16-en-3-one and 5-α-androst-16-en-3-ol are secreted by the boar and induce the mating stance in the sow. In humans, the same substances have been shown to be compounds of body odor and are presumed to affect human behavior. …

Continue reading “Olfactory Responsiveness to Two Odorous Steroids in Three Species of Nonhuman Primates”

Abstract Exposure of anestrous ewes to a ram or its odor results in the activation of the luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion leading to reinstatement of cyclicity in most females. Sexual experience and learning have been suggested as important factors to explain the variability of the female responses. In experiment 1, we compared the behavioral and …

Continue reading “Importance of learning in the response of ewes to male odor”

Abstract It is generally assumed that chemical signals (sexual pheromones) constitute the primary stimulus for sexual attraction in many mammals. However, it is unclear whether these pheromones are volatile or nonvolatile and which sensory systems are involved in their detection (vomeronasal and/or olfactory). Moreover, it has been demonstrated that experience influences the behavioral response to …

Continue reading “Attractive properties of sexual pheromones in mice: innate or learned?”

Abstract Married women generally report a later mean age at menopause. The results reported here, from a study carried out in Greene County, New York, are no exception. Married and widowed women report a later mean age at natural menopause compared to single and divorced women (P < 0.05). To better understand the relationship between …

Continue reading “Marital status and age at natural menopause: considering pheromonal influence”

Abstract Because humans seem to lack neuronal elements in the vomeronasal organ (VNO), many scientists believe that humans are unable to detect pheromones. This view is challenged by the observations that pheromone-like compounds, 4,16-androstadien-3-one (AND) and oestra-1,3,5(10),16-tetraen-3-ol (EST), activate the human hypothalamus. Whether these activations are mediated via VNO, venous blood or olfactory mucosa is …

Continue reading “Pheromone signal transduction in humans: what can be learned from olfactory loss”

Abstract Social chemosignals, so-called pheromones, have recently attracted much attention in that effects on women’s psychophysiology and cortical processing have been reported. We here tested the hypothesis that the human brain would process a putative social chemosignal, the endogenous steroid androstadienone, faster than other odorants with perceptually matched intensity and hedonic characteristics. Chemosensory event-related potentials …

Continue reading “A putative social chemosignal elicits faster cortical responses than perceptually similar odorants”

Abstract Individual differences in sensitivity to the putative human pheromone androstadienone were investigated in three experiments. In experiment 1, the absolute detection threshold for androstadienone was determined to be 211 µM using the method of constant stimuli. Detection for the related compound estratetraenol was also investigated but a threshold could not be determined. In experiment …

Continue reading “Individual Differences in Sensitivity to the Odor of 4,16-Androstadien-3-one”

Abstract A sex-related difference in olfactory sensitivity to androstenone has been reported to occur during adolescence. More males than females exhibited anosmia to androstenone, or an increase in androstenone threshold with age. The current study addressed the question whether similar, sexually dimorphic effects of aging over puberty can also be found for androstadienone. A total …

Continue reading “Androstadienone odor thresholds in adolescents”