(Press-News.org) The question if humans can communicate via pheromones in the same way as animals is under debate. Cell physiologists at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum have demonstrated that the odorous substance Hedione activates the putative pheromone receptor VN1R1, which occurs in the human olfactory epithelium. Together with colleagues from Dresden, the Bochum-based researchers showed that the scent of Hedione generates sex-specific activation patters in the brain, which do not occur with traditional fragrances. "These results constitute compelling evidence that a pheromone effect different from normal olfactory perception indeed exists in humans," says scent researcher Prof Dr Dr Dr Hanns Hatt. The team published the results in the Journal "NeuroImage".
Hedione activates pheromone receptor in olfactory epithelium
Using genetic-analysis approaches, the researchers from Bochum confirmed the pheromone receptor's existence in human olfactory mucosa. Subsequently, they transferred the genetic code for the receptor into cell cultures and, using these cells, demonstrated that Hedione activates the receptor. Hedione - derived from the Greek word "hedone", for fun, pleasure, lust - has a pleasant fresh jasmine-magnolia scent and is utilised in many perfumes. It is also called the scent of success.
Sex-specific brain activation may be related to the release of sex hormones
Together with the team headed by Prof Dr med Thomas Hummel from the University Hospital Dresden, the group from Bochum analysed what happens in the brain when a person smells Hedione. They compared the results with the effects triggered by phenylethyl alcohol, a traditional floral fragrance. Hedione activated brain areas in the limbic system significantly more strongly than phenylethyl alcohol. The limbic system is associated with emotions, memory and motivation. In addition, Hedione activated a specific hypothalamic region, in women more strongly than in men. This activation pattern is typical for controlling sexual behaviour via the endocrine system.
Next steps are in progress
"In the next stage, we want to find out which physiological and psychological parameters are affected when Hedione activates the pheromone receptor," explains Hanns Hatt. "We have already launched the relevant studies. But we also have to search for scent molecules in bodily secretions, which resemble Hedione and activate the receptor. With its help, humans could actually communicate with each other."
Pheromone receptors in humans and animals
Pheromones are substances that facilitate chemical communication between members of the same species. They trigger a homogenous, repeatable reaction. In the animal kingdom, this kind of communication is very widespread. Mice have approx. 300 different genes for pheromone receptors; in humans, probably only five of them are still functional. Most mammals have a special organ located at the base of the nasal septum, i.e. the vomeronasal organ. According to contemporary research this organ fulfils no function in humans anymore. However, researchers at RUB and other institutes have demonstrated in the recent years that pheromone receptors may also occur in the olfactory epithelium in humans and in mice.
Bibliographic record
I. Wallrabenstein, J. Gerber, S. Rasche, I. Croy, S. Kurtenbach, T. Hummel, H. Hatt (2015): The smelling of Hedione results in sex-differentiated human brain activity, Neuroimage, DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.03.029
Further information
Prof Dr Dr Dr Hanns Hatt, Department for Cellphysiology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology at the Ruhr-Universität, 44780 Bochum, Germany, phone: +49/234/32-24586, email: Hanns.Hatt@rub.de
Editor: Dr Julia Weiler
INFORMATION:
Well intentioned, but costly and potentially problematic. That's how researchers describe the end result of a decision by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate colchicine, a drug used to treat gout, among other ailments. Fewer patients are actually now taking it, and it has come at a cost to their wallets, says study leader Aaron Kesselheim of Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard Medical School in the US. The findings¹ appear in the Journal of General Internal Medicine,² published by Springer.
Colchicine had been sold at low cost for many ...
Shakespeare is such a towering literary figure that any new insight into the man, or his work, tends to generate a jolt of excitement in academic and non-academic communities of Shakespeare aficionados. Applying psychological theory and text-analyzing software, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have discovered a unique psychological profile that characterizes Shakespeare's established works, and this profile strongly identifies Shakespeare as an author of the long-contested play Double Falsehood.
The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal ...
The dispersant used to remediate the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is more toxic to cold-water corals than the spilled oil, according to a study conducted at Temple University. The study comes on the eve of the spill's fifth anniversary, April 20th.
In this collaborative study between researchers from Temple and the Pennsylvania State University, the researchers exposed three cold-water coral species from the Gulf to various concentrations of the dispersant and oil from the Deepwater Horizon well. They found that the dispersant is toxic to the ...
April 9, 2015 - A wealth of studies have shown that violent video games contribute to antisocial and aggressive behavior. But what makes those games appealing in the first place?
One possibility is that storytelling plays a role, particularly if it lets players engage in meaningful choices.
A new study suggests that non-violent video games that capitalize on such storytelling have prosocial benefits that could ultimately be helpful to clinical disorders such as autism.
"The motivation to engage in and enjoy video games corresponds with principals that apply to ...
Scientists at the University of York have discovered a potential new treatment for prostate cancer using low temperature plasmas (LTPs).
Published in the British Journal of Cancer (BJC), the study is the first time LTPs have been applied on cells grown directly from patient tissue samples. It is the result of a unique collaboration between the York Plasma Institute in the Department of Physics and the Cancer Research Unit (CRU) in York's Department of Biology.
Taking both healthy prostate cells and prostate cancer tissue cells from a single patient, the study allowed ...
FROSTBURG, MD (April 9, 2015)--Nitrogen fertilizers make it possible to feed more people in the world than ever before. However, too much of it can also harm the environment. Professor Eric Davidson, director of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Appalachian Laboratory, has been leading a group of scientists, economists, social scientists, and agriculture experts in figuring out how to produce more food while lowering pollution at the same time. He calls it a "Mo Fo Lo Po": more food, low pollution.
"The main objective is to produce abundant, ...
MINNEAPOLIS/ST.PAUL (4/9/15) - Research published in the open access journal Microbiome offers new evidence for the success of fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) in treating severe Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), a growing problem worldwide that leads to thousands of fatalities every year.
Research led by Michael Sadowsky, Alex Khoruts, and colleagues at the University of Minnesota in collaboration with the Rob Knight Lab at the University of Colorado, Boulder, reveals that healthy changes to a patient's microbiome are sustained for up to 21 weeks after transplant, ...
After decades in ornithological obscurity, one of the world's least-known birds is finally coming to light thanks to the persistence of a small group of researchers. Pablo Negret, Oscar Garzón, Pablo Stevenson, and Oscar Laverde-R. of the Universidad de los Andes have just published the results of their year-long study of the Black Tinamou (Tinamus osgoodi hershkovitzi) in The Auk: Ornithological Advances, including new ecological information as well as some of the first video and sound recordings of this elusive species.
The Black Tinamou is a chicken-sized bird ...
A simple test of the number of fish living on a coral reef can be used as a roadmap to restore degraded reefs and fishers' livelihoods according to a global study published in the journal Nature.
An international team of marine scientists surveyed more than 800 coral reefs worldwide to develop a diagnostic test of reef health.
"By studying remote and marine protected areas, we were able to estimate how many fish would be on a coral reef without fishing, and how long it should take newly protected areas to recover," says study lead author, Dr Aaron MacNeil from the ...
WASHINGTON - Recognizing and giving thanks for the positive aspects of life can result in improved mental, and ultimately physical, health in patients with asymptomatic heart failure, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
"We found that more gratitude in these patients was associated with better mood, better sleep, less fatigue and lower levels of inflammatory biomarkers related to cardiac health," said lead author Paul J. Mills, PhD, professor of family medicine and public health at the University of California, San Diego. The study ...
