Across the animal world, creatures from insects to mammals release and receive sexual
pheromones -- scent hormones -- signaling to the opposite sex that they're "in
the mood". Males will travel miles, following the scent trail of a female. A
female who wouldn't have given the time of day to some guy will suddenly find
him very attractive. In fact, all she
can think about is having his babies-and it all began with a whiff and a little
chemistry.
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing
But what about humans? Are we unconsciously at the mercy of sexual pheromones like
the rest of the animal kingdom? Are we busy sending and receiving "I'm
interested and available" signals to Mr. or Ms. Right across a crowded room,
even if we don't know it?
According to an article in the New
Scientist, there is no clear understanding of how human pheromones -- if
they exist -- might affect our brains, since, unlike other animals, we have no
actively functioning vomeronasal organ -- VNO -- the organ animals use to
detect pheromones. Although we have something resembling a VNO, it doesn't
appear to be connected to the brain; so: no brain, no reaction, no resulting
behavior. It may just be that we left this method of communication behind in
our ancestral past, in favor of our more highly evolved visual and verbal
skills. It seems we do as good a job, if not better, attracting our perspective
mates, by what we say, how we look, and how we behave.
Animals make their own "perfume"
In the scent-loving animal world, pheromones are "manufactured" by
animals as the aphrodisiacs of their courtship. And they are not only airborne;
they can also be secreted in saliva, sweat and urine. As Adrian Forsyth points
out in A Natural History of Sex,
white-tailed deer and elk bucks will give off their own perfume by urinating
and ejaculating on the ground and then wallowing in it. This drives the females
wild. The male porcupine showers his beloved in his urine, soaking her in his
scent, to get her aroused. Rabbits and hares leap into the air and from that
vantage point, spray their desired one in urine.
And now, human ingenuity has turned animal pheromones to
practical, commercial use. A product called "Boar Mate" has been created, which
farmers spray on boars to get them interested in mating with sows. The only
ingredient in Boar Mate is the hormone androsterone, which is found in pig
saliva, and is a powerful, sexually seductive chemical that is irresistible to
male and female swine. (Interestingly,
androsterone has also been found in human male urine and in the sweat emitted
from male armpits.)
Eau de people
Just when you were ready to believe humans don't send and receive
sex pheromones, new research shows that some animal species detect pheromones
using their olfactory system. So, it may turn out that animals and humans are
not so different in this respect than we seem to think!
New brain-imaging studies suggest that humans may indeed respond
to sex pheromones. In one such study, women who were asked to smell
sweat-drenched pads that had been worn in male armpits showed a reaction in the
primitive part of their brains, where sexual feelings originate.
More studies will need to be done to prove the relationship
between our secreted hormones and sexual arousal. But if these pheromones get
identified, duplicated and manufactured -- like Boar Mate -- then perfume that
actually is effective could be a
dangerous thing. Imagine walking along the street and suddenly you get a whiff
of male cologne; your knees buckle, your thoughts become clouded, and all you
can think about is a little afternoon delight. You turn your head to find the
source of that compelling scent and you find a street full of women, all
turning in the same direction. Men!
By Sally Schloss for WebVet
