Menstrual synchrony under optimal conditions: Bedouin families.

Weller, Aron; Weller, Leonard

doi:10.1037/0735-7036.111.2.143

Cited by 37 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…To determine the specific mechanism of pheromone action, we measured the luteinizing hormone (LH) and progesterone glucuronide content from urine samples to pinpoint the time of the preovulatory LH surge and verify the occurrence of ovulation. Previous hypotheses have focused on the menses or luteal phases [2][3][4][5][6][7]11,12 , although most medical texts report that the normal luteal phase is relatively fixed in length and it is the follicular phase that varies. In our sample, each of these three phases, including the luteal phase, varied significantly in length (indicated by the range of x-axis values in Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Regulation of ovulation by human pheromones

Stern

McClintock

1998

Nature

476

231

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Pheromones are airborne chemical signals that are released by an individual into the environment and which affect the physiology or behaviour of other members of the same species. The idea that humans produce pheromones has excited the imagination of scientists and the public, leading to widespread claims for their existence, which, however, has remained unproven. Here we investigate whether humans produce compounds that regulate a specific neuroendocrine mechanism in other people without being consciously detected as odours (thereby fulfilling the classic definition of a pheromone). We found that odourless compounds from the armpits of women in the late follicular phase of their menstrual cycles accelerated the preovulatory surge of luteinizing hormone of recipient women and shortened their menstrual cycles. Axillary (underarm) compounds from the same donors which were collected later in the menstrual cycle (at ovulation) had the opposite effect: they delayed the luteinizing-hormone surge of the recipients and lengthened their menstrual cycles. By showing in a fully controlled experiment that the timing of ovulation can be manipulated, this study provides definitive evidence of human pheromones.

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confidence: 99%

Regulation of ovulation by human pheromones

Stern

McClintock

1998

Nature

476

231

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“…The existence of ''human pheromones'' also may play a role in the numerous reports in the literature suggesting that humans might have some type of conspecific ''pheromone''-detecting system, particularly in relationship to the synchronization of women's menstrual cycles (McClintock, 1971;Russell, 1976;Russell et al, 1980;Stern and McClintock, 1998;Veith et al, 1983;Weller and Weller, 1997). This phenomenom and evidence of female human pheromones and their effects have been well illustrated in a recent study by Stern and McClintock (1998).…”

Section: Other Approaches For Establishingmentioning

confidence: 85%

CaBPs and other immunohistochemical markers of the human vomeronasal system: A comparison with other mammals

Johnson

1998

Microsc. Res. Tech.

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“…In addition, steroidderived olfactory stimuli affect the human CNS, as evidenced by electrodermal responses by anosmic subjects (Van Toller et al, 1983), PET brain imaging (Jacob et al, 2001), and fMRI (Levy et al, 1997), although the latter two studies used consciously discernable odors and found no sex difference. Several studies have demonstrated that women's menstrual cycles can be shifted by exposure to odors from other cycling women (Stern and McClintock, 1998;McClintock, 1971;Weller and Weller, 1997). Whether or not olfactory stimuli can speed recovery from phase shifts in humans remains to be tested.…”

Section: Jechura Et Al / Testosterone and Social Cues 47mentioning

confidence: 99%

Testosterone Suppresses Circadian Responsiveness to Social Cues in the Diurnal Rodent Octodon degus

2003

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The diurnal, social rodent Octodon degus displays a robust sex difference in the ability to use social cues to facilitate reentrainment following a phase advance of the light cycle. Adult females housed with a female social cue donor reentrained 25% to 40% faster than did females reentraining alone. However, reentrainment rates of males were unaffected by exposure to female social cues during reentrainment. The authors hypothesized that males were less sensitive to the reentrainment-enhancing effects of social cues and that their higher threshold to the stimuli could be overcome if the social cues were either increased in strength or salience. Housing a male with two females significantly shortened the time to reentrain following a 9-h phase advance (p = 0.002). Housing with a sister had no effect on reentrainment. Therefore, male degus are able to respond to social cues but require the stimulus to be stronger than that for females. The effect of testosterone was tested by comparing reentrainment rates of castrated males before and after testosterone replacement both with and without a female social cue donor. Castrated males responded to a single female social cue donor, reentraining 35% faster than when housed alone (p = 0.006), whereas the time to reentrainment of intact males and males with testosterone capsule implants did not differ. Intact females were also implanted with testosterone and phase shifted with and without donors. Testosterone treatment eliminated the increase in reentrainment rates in the presence of social cues. The authors conclude that the rate of recovery from odor-enhanced phase shifts is modulated by activational effects of testosterone in male degus. Testosterone is also effective in suppressing social cue responsiveness in females, suggesting that testosterone's effects on responsiveness are not sexually dimorphic. This hormonal effect likely occurs by altering sensory system functions or CNS response to sensory information.

show abstract

Menstrual synchrony under optimal conditions: Bedouin families.

Cited by 37 publications

References 60 publications

Regulation of ovulation by human pheromones

Regulation of ovulation by human pheromones

CaBPs and other immunohistochemical markers of the human vomeronasal system: A comparison with other mammals

Testosterone Suppresses Circadian Responsiveness to Social Cues in the Diurnal Rodent Octodon degus

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