‘Pheromones’: a New Term for a Class of Biologically Active Substances

Карлсон, П.; Lüscher, Martin

doi:10.1038/183055a0

Cited by 1,116 publications

(491 citation statements)

References 7 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

451

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This has in part a historical foundation. The pivotal publication by Karlson and Lü scher (1959) described the upwind-seeking behavior of male moths in the presence of a sexual attractant isolated from female moths. Releaser pheromones, however, exist in many more flavors and elicit various behaviors: aggression from males (Maruniak et al, 1986) and females (Bean and Wysocki, 1989); maternal behavior (Del Cerro, 1998), even from nulliparous females (Saito et al, 1998); suckling in infant rabbits (Schaal et al, 2003).…”

Section: Pheromone Response: Primers Signalers Modulators and Relementioning

confidence: 99%

Facts, fallacies, fears, and frustrations with human pheromones

2004

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Among primates in general, pheromones are of variable importance to social communication. Data on humans have generated the greatest controversy regarding the existence of pheromonal communication. In this review, the likelihood of pheromonal communication in humans is assessed with a discussion of chemical compounds produced by the axilla that may function as pheromones; the likelihood that the vomeronasal organ (VNO), a putative pheromone receptor organ in many other mammals, is functional in humans; and the possible ways pheromones operate in humans. In the human axilla, the interactions between the cutaneous microflora and axillary secretions render this region analogous to scent glands found in other primates. Both the chemistry of axillary secretions and their effects on conspecifics in humans appear to be analogous to other mammalian pheromone systems. Whichever chemical compounds serve a pheromonal function in humans, another unknown is the receptor. Although the VNO has been implicated in the reception of pheromones in many vertebrates, it is not the only pathway through which such information has access to the central nervous system; there is ample evidence to support the view that the olfactory epithelium can respond to pheromones. Furthermore, if a chemical activates receptors within the VNO, this does not necessarily mean that the compound is a pheromone. An important caveat for humans is that critical components typically found within the functioning VNO of other, nonprimate, mammals are lacking, suggesting that the human VNO does not function in the way that has been described for other mammals. In a broader perspective, pheromones can be classified as primers, signalers, modulators, and releasers. There is good evidence to support the presence of the former three in humans. Examples include affects on the menstrual cycle (primer effects); olfactory recognition of newborn by its mother (signaler); individuals may exude different odors based on mood (suggestive of modulator effects). However, there is no good evidence for releaser effects in adult humans. 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.

show abstract

Section: Pheromone Response: Primers Signalers Modulators and Relementioning

confidence: 99%

Facts, fallacies, fears, and frustrations with human pheromones

2004

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Precise definitions have been proposed for the concept of pheromone (Beauchamp et al, 1976;Karlson and Lüscher, 1959;Wyatt, 2010), 1 but so far studies in humans have not managed to identify molecules fitting these criteria (Wyatt, 2015) and some authors are skeptical about the existence of pheromones in humans (Doty, 2010). Studies investigating putative pheromonal properties of some compounds (mostly those cited earlier, chosen on the basis of questionable arguments) have tested, using varied methodologies, their influence on human behavior and physiological and emotional states.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regarding the variations during the menstrual cycle, women were found to be more sensitive to androstadienone around ovulation than were women in the non-fertile phase or women who were using oral contraceptives, which was not the case for another non-body odor, phenyl-ethanol (Lundström et al, 2006). 1 According to Karlson and Lüscher (1959), pheromones are "substances which are secreted to the outside by an individual and received by a second individual of the same species, in which they release a specific reaction, for example, a specific behavior or a developmental process." The concept of pheromone was then redefined by Beauchamp et al (1976) to better fit the mammalian model: to them, a pheromone is a single molecule (or at most a mix of only a few compounds) having a well-defined behavioral or endocrinological function that is species specific and expressed through stereotyped responses that do not result from learning or exposure effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Androstadienone’s influence on the perception of facial and vocal attractiveness is not sex specific

Ferdenzi

Delplanque

Atanassova

et al. 2016

Psychoneuroendocrinology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tThe androgen steroid androstadienone, an odorous compound emitted from the human axillary region, has recurrently been considered as a candidate compound involved in human chemical communication and mate choice. Although perception of androstadienone has been shown to influence several affective (mood), attentional, physiological and neural parameters, studies investigating its impact on human attractiveness remain unpersuasive because of incomplete designs (e.g., only female participants) and contradictory results. The aim of this study was to investigate how androstadienone may influence others' attractiveness. Specifically, we used a complete design (male and female raters, male and female faces and voices) to determine whether androstadienone influences the perception of social stimuli in a sex-specific manner, which would favor pheromonal-like properties of the compound, or in a more general manner, which would suggest that the compound has broader influences on human psychological responses. After comparing the ratings of men and women who were exposed to androstadienone masked in clove oil with those of men and women who were exposed to clove oil alone, we found that androstadienone enhanced the perceived attractiveness of emotionally relevant stimuli (opposite-sex stimuli in men and in fertile women). Response times for categorizing the stimuli as attractive or not were also affected by androstadienone, with longer response times in men and in fertile women and shorter response times in non-fertile women, irrespective of the stimulus sex. The results favor the hypothesis of general effects over sex-specific effects of androstadienone, thus questioning the relevance of focusing on that particular compound in the study of human attractiveness through body odor and encouraging the search for other semiochemicals that might be significant for human mate choice.

show abstract

“…100 Determination of the activation parameters and half-life times at different temperatures showed that the 1,7-hydrogen shift is a spontaneous reaction that proceeds within minutes (Table 3). 100 Compared to the activation parameters of the previously studied [1,7]-hydrogen shift from (1,3Z,5Z )-octatriene to (2Z,4Z,6E )-octatriene 101,102 or those of the isomerisation of previtamin D3 to vitamin D3, 103,104 the reaction 71 17 has the lowest activation energy due to the formation of the extended π-system of 17 ( Table 3). The short half-life of e.g.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The short half-life of e.g. 148 min for 71 at 18 ЊC suggests that the [1,7]-hydrogen shift occurs spontaneously under environmental conditions and during the usual enrichment of algal volatiles. Since neither 71 nor any of its stereoisomers proved to be the genuine pheromone, Scheme 14 [1,7]-H-Shift in the biosynthesis of giffordene 17.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%