Mutual Olfactory Recognition Between Mother and Child

Roberts, S. Craig; Eryaman, Faize

doi:10.22330/heb/321/042-052

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…When children aged 3.5-5 years took an olfactory recognition test based on tshirts from their mother versus an unfamiliar woman, 18 of 26 chose the mother's t-shirt in greater than 60% of the trials, but only eight in a statistically significant manner [57]. In another study, 3-5-year-olds had to select their mother's tshirt among five others: only 6 of 19 succeeded [133]. A further test [134] assessed whether 6-15-year-old children could identify their mother's or father's t-shirt (relative to a t-shirt worn by a sex-matched unrelated participant).…”

Section: (B) Social Diversification and Olfactory Recognition Of Conspecificsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Olfaction scaffolds the developing human from neonate to adolescent and beyond

Schaal

Saxton

Loos

et al. 2020

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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The impact of the olfactory sense is regularly apparent across development. The fetus is bathed in amniotic fluid (AF) that conveys the mother's chemical ecology. Transnatal olfactory continuity between the odours of AF and milk assists in the transition to nursing. At the same time, odours emanating from the mammary areas provoke appetitive responses in newborns. Odours experienced from the mother's diet during breastfeeding, and from practices such as pre-mastication, may assist in the dietary transition at weaning. In parallel, infants are attracted to and recognize their mother's odours; later, children are able to recognize other kin and peers based on their odours. Familiar odours, such as those of the mother, regulate the child's emotions, and scaffold perception and learning through non-olfactory senses. During juvenility and adolescence, individuals become more sensitive to some bodily odours, while the timing of adolescence itself has been speculated to draw from the chemical ecology of the family unit. Odours learnt early in life and within the family niche continue to influence preferences as mate choice becomes relevant. Olfaction thus appears significant in turning on, sustaining and, in cases when mother odour is altered, disturbing adaptive reciprocity between offspring and carer during the multiple transitions of development between birth and adolescence. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Olfactory communication in humans’.

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Section: (B) Social Diversification and Olfactory Recognition Of Conspecificsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Olfaction scaffolds the developing human from neonate to adolescent and beyond

Schaal

Saxton

Loos

et al. 2020

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…In keeping with this focus on female competition, Fisher (2017) provides a theoretical review, and a call to arms for researchers to investigate the role of both competition and cooperation between mothers. There is also some interesting research presented by Eryaman and Roberts (2017) investigating the presence of mutual olfactory recognition between mothers and offspring, and a manuscript by Pollet and Little (2017) offering guidelines for the use of forced choice methodologies in Ethology and Evolutionary Psychology.…”

Section: But What Of the Science?mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Highland Fling to Remember: A Short Report on the XXIII Biennial Congress on Human Ethology in Stirling, Scotland

Allen¹

2017

HEB

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The University of Stirling, nestled between the Scottish cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, was the stage for the 23 rd Biennial Congress on Human Ethology, in August 2016. In true ISHE spirit, the organising committee were keen to create as many opportunities as possible for delegates to immerse themselves in Scottish culture and tradition, and organised a packed calendar of social events. This began with an opening ceremony with a piper, and live performances of traditional Scottish dancing by the Stirling Highland Dancers (with socially mandated audience participation, see figure 1!), This was followed by dinner and whiskey tasting overlooking the beautiful University campus, cloaked in the shadow of the Ochil Hills.

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