Biology:Human sex pheromones
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}} No study has led to the isolation of true human sex pheromones, though various researchers have investigated the possibility of their existence.[1][2] Sex pheromones are chemical (olfactory) signals, pheromones, released by an organism to attract an individual, encourage it to mate with it, or perform some other function closely related with sexual reproduction. While humans are highly dependent upon visual cues, when in proximity, smells also play a role in sociosexual behaviors. An inherent difficulty in studying human pheromones is the need for cleanliness and odorlessness in human participants.[3] Experiments have focused on three classes of putative human pheromones: axillary steroids, vaginal aliphatic acids, and stimulators of the vomeronasal organ.
Axillary steroids are produced by the testicles, ovaries, apocrine glands and adrenal glands.[4] These chemicals are not biologically active until puberty when sex steroids influence their activity.[5] The activity change during puberty suggest that humans communicate through odors.[4] Several axillary steroids have been described as possible human pheromones: androstadienol, androstadienone, androstenone, androstenol, and androsterone.
Androstenol is the putative female pheromone.[5] In a 1978 study by Kirk-Smith, people wearing surgical masks treated with androstenol or untreated were shown pictures of people, animals and buildings and asked to rate the pictures on attractiveness.[6] Individuals with their masks treated with androstenol rated their photographs as being "warmer" and "more friendly".[6] The best-known case study involves the synchronization of menstrual cycles among women based on unconscious odor cues, the McClintock effect, named after the primary investigator, Martha McClintock, of the University of Chicago.[7][8] A group of women were exposed to a whiff of perspiration from other women. Depending on the time in the month the sweat was collected (before, during, or after ovulation), there was an association with the recipient woman's menstrual cycle to speed up or slow down. The 1971 study proposed two types of pheromone involved: "One, produced prior to ovulation, shortens the ovarian cycle; and the second, produced just at ovulation, lengthens the cycle". However, recent studies and reviews of the methodology have called the validity of her results into question.[9][10] A 2013 meta-review of existing studies showed that the syncing of ovarian cycles likely did not exist.[11]
Androstenone is postulated to be secreted only by men as an attractant for women and is also thought to affect their mood positively. It seems to have different effects on women, depending on where a female is in her menstrual cycle, with the highest sensitivity to it during ovulation.[5] In 1983, study participants exposed to androstenone were shown to undergo changes in skin conductance.[12] Androstenone has been found to be perceived as more pleasant to women at a woman's time of ovulation. It is hypothesized that this may be a way for a male to detect an ovulating female who would be more willing to be involved in sexual interaction.[1][2][3][13]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wysocki, Charles J.; Preti, George (7 October 2004). "Facts, fallacies, fears, and frustrations with human pheromones". The Anatomical Record 281A (1): 1201–1211. doi:10.1002/ar.a.20125. PMID 15470677. "It is emphasized that no bioassay-guided study has led to the isolation of true human pheromones, a step that will elucidate specific functions to human chemical signals.".
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Riley, Alex (9 May 2016). "Pheromones are probably not why people find you attractive". BBC News. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160509-the-tantalising-truth-about-sex-pheromones. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Grammer, Karl; Fink, Bernhard; Neave, Nick (2005). "Human pheromones and sexual attraction". European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology 118 (2): 135–142. doi:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2004.08.010. PMID 15653193.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Hays, Warren S. T. (2003). "Human pheromones: have they been demonstrated?". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 54 (2): 89–97. doi:10.1007/s00265-003-0613-4.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Mostafa, Taymour; Khouly, Ghada El; Hassan, Ashraf (2012). "Pheromones in sex and reproduction: Do they have a role in humans?". Journal of Advanced Research 3 (1): 1–9. doi:10.1016/j.jare.2011.03.003.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kirk-Smith, Michael (1978). "Human social attitudes affected by androstenol". Research Communications in Psychology, Psychiatry & Behavior 3 (4): 379–384. ISSN 0362-2428.
- ↑ McClintock, M.K. (January 1971). "Menstrual synchrony and suppression". Nature 229 (5282): 244–5. doi:10.1038/229244a0. PMID 4994256. Bibcode: 1971Natur.229..244M.
- ↑ Stern, K., McClintock. M.K. (March 1998). "Regulation of ovulation by human pheromones". Nature 392 (6672): 177–9. doi:10.1038/32408. PMID 9515961. Bibcode: 1998Natur.392..177S..
- ↑ Yang, Zhengwei; Schank, Jeffrey C. (2006). "Women Do Not Synchronize Their Menstrual Cycles". Human Nature 17 (4): 434–447. doi:10.1007/s12110-006-1005-z. PMID 26181612. http://transactionpub.metapress.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&issn=1045-6767&volume=17&issue=4&spage=434. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ↑ Strassmann BI (March 1999). "Menstrual synchrony pheromones: cause for doubt". Hum. Reprod. 14 (3): 579–80. doi:10.1093/humrep/14.3.579. PMID 10221677.
- ↑ Harris, Amy L.; Vitzthum, Virginia J. (2013-04-01). "Darwin's Legacy: An Evolutionary View of Women's Reproductive and Sexual Functioning". The Journal of Sex Research 50 (3–4): 207–246. doi:10.1080/00224499.2012.763085. ISSN 0022-4499. PMID 23480070.
- ↑ Toller, C. Van; Kirk-Smith, M.; Wood, N.; Lombard, J.; Dodd, G.H. (1983). "Skin conductance and subjective assessments associated with the odour of 5-α-androstand-3-one". Biological Psychology 16 (1–2): 85–107. doi:10.1016/0301-0511(83)90056-X. PMID 6682682.
- ↑ Stromberg, Joseph (13 March 2015). "How one perfume company misled scientists into believing in human sex pheromones". https://www.vox.com/2015/3/13/8202465/sex-pheromones. ""... But the basic truth is that we have no evidence human pheromones even exist — and these studies can all be traced back to a single fragrance company called Erox that managed to convince dozens of scientists their two 'pheromones' were worth researching in the first place.""
Bibliography
- Yuhas, Daisy (1 May 2014). "Are Human Pheromones Real?". https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-human-pheromones-real/.
- Jacob, Tim J.C. (2005) [1999] A critical review of the evidence for the existence (1) human pheromones and (2) a functional vomeronasal organ (VNO) in humans, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University
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