Pheromones - Scientific Facts

Harvard Medical School

All it takes is a few molecules of a certain chemical to enable mammals
to smell their own species up to a half-mile away, says Milos Novotny,
Distinguished Professor of chemistry and director of the Institute for
Pheromone Research.

The chemicals, called pheromones, are detected by the vomeronasal
organ (VNO) in the animal's nose. Unlike the part of the nose that detects
ordinary smells, this super-sensitive organ is connected directly to the
mid-brain.

Professor Novotny current emphasis is on the neurochemistry of neurons
in the VNO and OE. He is the leader of interdisciplinary studies that
bridge the physical sciences, life sciences and social sciences, including
chemistry, neurobiology, psychobiology, biochemistry, wildlife ecology,
medical sciences, and animal physiology and behavior.

Ever notice how male dogs come from the other side of the
neighborhood when a female dog is in heat?

In a paper published July 12 in the journal Nature, Novotny and
co-workers at Harvard Medical School in Boston headed by Linda
Buck reported that the vomeronasal organ can actually detect both
odorants and pheromones. The VNO detected odorants classified as
animalic, camphoraceous, citrus, floral, fruity, green/minty, musky, sweet
or woody. Like pheromones, these odorants were detected at extremely
small concentrations.

"This suggests that in mammals, as in insects, odorous compounds
released from plants or other animal species may act as
'semiochemicals' -- signaling molecules that elicit behaviors that are
advantageous to the sender or the receiver," Novotny said.

Professor Novotny can be reached at 812-855-4532 or
novotny@indiana.edu

Eau de Pheromone

Compared with many other creatures, human women and men simply
don't rely too heavily on their noses for sniffing out a partner. But new
studies suggest that our sense of smell may be more important than was
previously assumed. In fact, says Alan Hirsch, neurological director at the
Smell & Taste Treatment Research Foundation in Chicago, people
can lose sexual function if they lose their sense of smell.

Some researchers think olfactory research in animals may help explain
human behaviors. Let's start with mice. Claus Wedekind, a zoologist at
Bern University in Switzerland, says female mice sniff for mating partners
with DNA that's different from their own, to help their offspring resist a
wider range of diseases. Specifically, Wedekind says, female mice look
for a mate with a different MHC (major histocompatibility complex), a
protein complex that lets the immune system know when disease is
present, spurring killer T cells into action. Similarly, researchers say,
human females are more likely to be attracted by a man's body odor if he
has different MHC.

Even if a woman turns up her nose at first, researchers have learned, a
relationship may flower later, when her body is more receptive. In studies
at the Ludwig-Bolzman-Institut in Vienna, 290 young women who were
ordinarily turned off by androsterone (a key component in men's sweat)
were less so by it while they were ovulating. Androsterone, it seems, may
act as a pheromone that attracts women, increasing the likelihood of
fertilization.

Trends in Neurosciences
Volume 26, Issue 12, December 2003, Pages 646-650

Pheromones In Male Perspiration Reduce Women's
Tension, Alter Hormone Response

PHILADELPHIA -- Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and the
Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia have found that
exposure to male perspiration has marked psychological and
physiological effects on women: It can brighten women's moods,
reducing tension and increasing relaxation, and also has a direct effect
on the release of luteinizing hormone, which affects the length and timing
of the menstrual cycle.

The results will be published in June in the journal Biology of
Reproduction and currently appear on the journal's Web site.

"It has long been recognized that female pheromones can affect the
menstrual cycles of other women," said George Preti, a member of the
Monell Center and adjunct professor of dermatology in Penn's School of
Medicine. "These findings are the first to document mood and
neuroendocrine effects of male pheromones on females."

In a study led by Preti and colleague Charles J. Wysocki, extracts from
the underarms of male volunteers were applied to the upper lip of 18
women ages 25 to 45. During the six hours of exposure to the compound,
the women were asked to rate their mood using a fixed scale.

"Much to our surprise, the women reported feeling less tense and more
relaxed during exposure to the male extract," said Wysocki, a member of
the Monell Center and adjunct professor of animal biology in Penn's
School of Veterinary Medicine. "This suggests that there may be much
more going on in social settings like singles bars than meets the eye."

After the women's exposure to the underarm extract, further testing
revealed a shift in blood levels of luteinizing hormone. Levels of this
reproductive hormone, produced in pulses by the pituitary gland, typically
surge right before ovulation but also experience hundreds of smaller
peaks throughout the menstrual cycle.

Preti and Wysocki found that application of male underarm secretions
hastened onset of these smaller pulses. Duration to the next pulse of
luteinizing hormone was shortened by an average 20 percent, from 59 to
47 minutes.

Preti and Wysocki are now looking at the several dozen individual
compounds that make up male perspiration to determine which may be
responsible for the effects they observed. They also plan to study whether
female pheromones can affect men's moods or physiological functions.

"This may open the door to pharmacological approaches to manage
onset of ovulation or the effects of premenstrual syndrome or even natural
products to aid relaxation," Wysocki said. "By determining how
pheromones impact mood and endocrine response, we might be able to
build a better male odor: molecules that more effectively manipulate the
effects we observed."

The underarm extracts used in the study came from men who bathed with
fragrance-free soap and refrained from deodorant use for four weeks.
The extracts were blended to avoid reactions to individual men's odors.
None of the women involved in the study discerned that male sweat had
been applied right under their noses; some believed they were involved
in a study of alcohol, perfume or even lemon floor wax.

Half the women received three applications of the male secretions during
a six-hour period, followed three controlled exposures to ethanol, used as
a control substance, over a six-hour period. For the other half, the
regimen was reversed. The women did not report feeling any more or
less energetic, sensuous, tired, calm, sexy, anxious, fatigued or active
after exposure to male perspiration.

Preti and Wysocki are joined in the Biology of Reproduction paper by
co-authors Kurt T. Barnhart and Steven J. Sondheimer of Penn's
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and James J. Leyden of
Penn's Department of Dermatology. Their work is sponsored by the
National Institutes of Health.

Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2004 Nov;29(10):1290-9.
Related Articles, Links

Sniffing a human sex-steroid derived compound affects mood and
autonomic arousal in a dose-dependent manner.

Bensafi M, Tsutsui T, Khan R, Levenson RW, Sobel N.

Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, 3210 Tolman Hall MC 1650,
University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
bensafi@uclink.berkeley.edu

The effects of sniffing different concentrations of the human sex-steroid
derived compound 4,16-androstadien-3-one (AND) on autonomic
nervous system function and mood were measured in 60 subjects. The
effects were sex-specific and concentration-dependent. Only high
concentrations of AND (0.00625 M) increased positive mood (p < 0.03)
and decreased negative mood (p < 0.05) in women compared to men,
and had sympathetic-like effects in women (p < 0.003), and
parasympathetic-like effects in men (p < 0.05). These findings further
implicate AND in chemical communication between humans, but pose
questions as to the path by which AND is transduced, whether through
chemical sensing or transdermal diffusion.

Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
Randomized Controlled Trial

PMID: 15288708 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

More Facts ...

* Pheromones are effective for most
people and using them daily for six weeks will
yield the best results.

* There are two different formulas. One to
attract women the other to attract men.

   * Human pheromones are the only
effective attractants. Animal pheromones from
pigs or deer do not work for humans.

* Most pheromones sold, especially over the
internet, are animal attractant formulas
and will not work for humans.

* House of Rose uses laboratory certified
human pheromones. These are from the same
manufacturer that Harrod's of London uses in
their air circulating system to increase shopper
purchases.

  * If you want laboratory certified
human pheromones with or without
perfume or cologne, visit..

www.houseofrose.com
House of Rose

Pheromone Science
Issued US Patent

Pheromone Sciences Issued U.S. Patent on
Pheromone Sciences Corp (TSX-V: PHS) a
developer of fertility prediction medical devices for
both human and large animal applications, today
announced that the U.S. Patent Office has issued
patent No. 6,592,529 covering Pheromone's
sensing and reporting technology in the early
prediction of ovulation for female mammals,
including humans, using innovative measurements
of sweat ion concentrations. Fertility prediction and
detection is of daily interest to the lives of millions
of women across the United States.

"This patent will serve as a valuable asset as we
work through licensing opportunities with potential
strategic partners in both the human and large
animal marketplaces", remarked Christopher
Neuman, President and CEO of Pheromone
Sciences. "The patent recognizes the propriety
position of Pheromone's unique technology for
ovulation detection through the non invasive
measurement of sweat ion constituents and
demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the
development of a comprehensive intellectual
property portfolio."

Hormones and Behavior
Volume 44, Issue 5, December 2003, Pages
395-401

Psychological effects of subthreshold exposure to
the putative human pheromone
4,16-androstadien-3-one - Johan N. Lundström,
a, Miguel Gonçalvesb, Francisco Estevesb and
Mats J. Olssona, Department of Psychology,
Uppsala University, Uppsala: Sweden Universidade
Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Lisbon,
Portugal

Research on human putative pheromones has
recently focused on the effects of exposure to
4,16-androstadien-3-one (androstadienone). This
steroid has been observed in the skin, axillary hair,
and blood plasma, primarily in males. In addition to
effects of the steroid on measures of physiological
arousal and brain blood flow, positive mood effects
have also been reported. The current study further
investigated mood effects of androstadienone
exposure (250 M) in women in two experiments.
Through psychophysical testing of each individual
we controlled for whether any observed mood
effects could be related to sensory detection of the
steroid. In both experiments, we observed positive
changes of women's feeling of being focused,
which could not be related to sensory detection of
the steroid. Overall, the patterns of results were
significantly correlated between the two
experiments. In conclusion, this study corroborates
earlier findings suggesting that androstadienone
exposure yields effects on women's mood; the
feeling of being focused. The mood effects were
not dependent on menstrual cycle phase. Further,
these effects are replicable and occur also when
androstadienone detection is rigorously controlled
for across variation in menstrual cycle.

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Psychoneuroendocrinology

2004

Nov;29(10):1290-9. Related Articles,

Links

Sniffing a human sex-steroid derived

compound

affects mood and autonomic

arousal in a

dose-dependent manner.

Bensafi M, Tsutsui T, Khan R, Levenson

RW,

Sobel N.

Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, 3210

Tolman Hall MC 1650, University of

California at

Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

94720, USA.

bensafi@uclink.berkeley.

edu

The effects of sniffing different

concentrations

of the human sex-steroid

derived compound

4,16-androstadien-

3-one (AND)

autonomic nervous

system function and mood

were

measured in 60 subjects. The effects

were sex-specific and

concentration-

dependent. Only high

concentrations of

AND (0.00625 M) increased

positive

mood (p < 0.03) and decreased

negative

mood (p < 0.05) in women compared

men, and had sympathetic-like effects in

women (p < 0.003), and parasympathetic-

effects in men (p < 0.05). These

findings

further implicate AND in chemical

communication between humans, but

pose

questions as to the path by which

AND is

transduced, whether through

chemical sensing

or transdermal

diffusion.

Publication Types:

Clinical Trial

Randomized Controlled Trial

PMID: 15288708 [PubMed - indexed for

MEDLINE]

Physiology Behavior

2001 Sep

1-15;

74(1-2):15-27. Related Articles, Links

Context-dependent effects of steroid

chemosignals on human physiology and

mood.

Jacob S, Hayreh DJ, McClintock MK.

Department of Psychology, University of

Chicago, 5730 South Woodlawn Avenue,

Chicago, IL 60637, USA.

We examined the physiological and

psychological effects of nanomolar

amounts of

steroids applied directly

under the nose

(Delta4,16-

androstadien-3-one and

1,3,5,(10),16-

estratetraen-3-ol).

These

potential

human chemosignals were not

consciously discernible in a strong-odor

carrier

(clove oil and propylene glycol). In

double-blind, within-subject,

repeated-

measures experiment with 65

subjects,

we demonstrated that both steroids

produced sustained changes in digit skin

temperature and palmar skin

conductance (an

indicator of sympathetic

nervous system tone)

while the subjects

were completing

psychological

questionnaires or reading. These

effects,

however, did not follow the

sex-

stereotyped pattern predicted by a sex

attractant function. Both

androstadienone and

estratetraenol

raised the skin temperature of

men's

hands and lowered it in women. Likewise,

each steroid increased skin

conductance, with

a significantly greater

effect on women than

men. Women's

responses were observed only

in the

sessions run by the male tester, an effect

that may or may not be solely attributable

tester sex. Men's responses, in

contrast, were

not affected by this

difference in

socioexperimental condition.

Similarly, women

experienced an

immediate increase in positive

mood only

in the presence of the male tester,

while

men's responses were unaffected by this

socioexperimental context. One source of

this

sex difference may be the fact that

the majority

of women were in the late

follicular phase of

their menstrual cycle.

Although it is premature

to classify these

steroids as pheromones, our

data

suggest that they function as

chemosignals that modulate autonomic

nervous

system tone as well as

psychological state.

Publication Types:

Clinical Trial

Randomized Controlled Trial

PMID: 11564447 [PubMed - indexed for

MEDLINE]

Pheromones...
Scientific Facts