Androstenol – a Steroid Derived Odor Activates the Hypothalamus in Women. Ivanka Savic, Hans Berglund

Smelling Androstenol caused activation of a portion of the hypothalamus, which according to animal data mediates the pheromone triggered mating behavior. Smelling of OO, on the other hand, engaged only the classical olfactory regions (the piriform cortex, lateral amygdala, anterior insular and anterior cingulate cortex).
Conclusions

The observed pattern of activation is very similar to the pattern previously detected with 4,16-androstadien- 3-one in heterosexual females. It suggests that several compounds released by human body may activate cerebral networks involved in human reproduction.

Source: PLoS One [Open Access]
http://www.plosone. org/article/ info:doi/ 10.1371/journal. pone.0008651

James V. Kohl
http://www.pheromones.com

What is OO ?

(02-18-2010 10:13 PM)Gone with the Wind Wrote:  What is OO ?

"four ordinary odors (OO), and odorless air (the base line condition)."

James V. Kohl
http://www.scentoferos.com

(02-18-2010 10:33 PM)jvkohl Wrote:  "four ordinary odors (OO), and odorless air (the base line condition)."

James V. Kohl
http://www.scentoferos.com

Thanks.

Hope you take the time to read the entire article, and comment either here or in the journal's comment section. So far, it looks like other researchers aren't going to say much. By comparison, everyone seems big on links from what we see to brain activation--but no neurophysiological mechanisms are detailed.

(02-18-2010 10:54 PM)Gone with the Wind Wrote:  Thanks.

Hmm, interesting. What are the four odorless odors, by the way?

(02-19-2010 2:19 AM)Sillykitty Wrote:  Hmm, interesting. What are the four odorless odors, by the way?

The full text of the article is here, but I'm not sure whether it mentions the four ordinary odors by name:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/...ne.0008651

Perhaps the odors were too ordinary to deserve mention.

James V. Kohl

Most of us here are already convinced NOL has pheromonal properties, but this article makes it more difficult for members of the academic community to keep their heads burried in the sand. As data continues to pile up it is harder and harder to defend the position that human biological processes are fundamentally different than the biological processes of all of the other animals.

I do like this definition of pheromones:

Quote:According to the original definition by Karlson and Lucher pheromones are chemical compounds secreted externally by some animals (especially insects) that influences the physiology or behavior of other animals of the same species.

This easily includes our normal use of the word, and avoids some of the twisted academic byways that often cloud the primary issue of whether inhaling these molecules alters behavior. This definition does go beyond our common usage to include non-volitile molecules that might be sensed by licking, absorbtion, or ingestion. Many of us (Bubba excepted) have not considered those pheromones in our common parlance.

Thanks, James, for providing the direct link. Any time you can do this it is a great help. Many articles are on restricted servers to which many readers may not have (or be willing to buy) access. When they are freely available as this one is, links are greatly appreciated.

The original definition clearly states that pheromones "...release a specific reaction, for example, a definite behavior, or a developmental process" Karlson, P., & Luscher, M. (1959) 'Pheromones': A new term for a class of biologically active substances. Nature, 183, 55-56.

Savic and Berglund (2010), show the link from androstenol to brain activation, which strongly suggests the brain activation is linked to physiology (e.g., gonadotropin releasing hormone modulated luteinizing hormone secretion). Head-in-the-sand researchers will continue to argue that this does not mean androstenol (in the amount used) effects any developmental process, and that androstenol does not release any definite behavior. I will continue to argue that pheromones occur in mixtures, because their influence is typically associated with a mixture.

Androstenol is the most obvious effector of the hormones involved in the concurrent maturation of the neuroendocrine system, the reproductive system, and the central nervous system. But androstenol alone cannot affect behavior that is associated with olfactory/pheromonal input. Minimally the behavioral affect will come from a mixture of two or more chemical signals, one of which effects hormones. The other chemical(s) in the mix will allow the mixture to convey a species-specific message of reproductive fitness. Via the association with the hormone effect, the species-specific message is what allows the mixture to affect behavior.

As obviously meaningful as these latest results are, they still address the issues of hormonal effects and behavioral affects separately. For this reason, anyone who does not grasp the overall concept of the evolved neurophysiological mechanisms that enable olfactory/pheromonal input to effect hormones, which allows for hormone-associated behavioral affects, will continue to fail to grasp the importance of human pheromones to the development of human behaviors.

(02-19-2010 8:56 AM)Gone with the Wind Wrote:  Thanks, James, for providing the direct link. Any time you can do this it is a great help. Many articles are on restricted servers to which many readers may not have (or be willing to buy) access. When they are freely available as this one is, links are greatly appreciated.

The author's version of my most recent award-winning publication is now available from a link that I provided in my comments on Savic and Berglund (2010). When other researchers are willing to update their knowledge base on this topic, and to comment on some of the latest research, I may be motivated to publish the research findings that my colleagues and I have been presenting at scientific forums during the past few years.

James V. Kohl
http://www.pheromones.com

(02-19-2010 2:19 AM)Sillykitty Wrote:  Hmm, interesting. What are the four odorless odors, by the way?

"The odors were butanol, cedar oil, lavendel oil and eugenol."
So they were not odorless, by any means, but ordinary.