Do Pheromones Play Role In Your Sexual Life
If you've never heard of pheromones it is time to learn about
the part they play in your sex life. The concept of a human
pheromone, or sexual scent of attraction, has been debated and
researched for years.
Using a brain imaging technique, Swedish researchers have shown
that homosexual and heterosexual men respond differently to two
odors that may be involved in sexual arousal, and that the gay
men respond in the same way as women. The new research may open
the way to studying human pheromones, as well as the biological
basis of sexual preference.
A pheromone is any chemical or mixture of chemicals produced by
a living organism that transmits a message to other members of
the same species. The term "pheromone" is usually used for
sexual attractants. There are some other pheromones - they act
as signals for alarm and defense, territory and trail-marking,
and social regulation and recognition. Pheromones are now being
used in insect control, for example as bait to attract males to
field traps or, in very high concentrations, to disorient
insects and prevent mating.
After long dismissing the search for a human pheromone as folly,
scientists have begun to take a second look at how human body
odor influences sexual attraction. The magic scent is not only a
romantic elixir but the aromatic effluence of our immune system.
The only trouble is we don't give it half a chance.
Although it's now clear that pheromones exist, the way our body
processes them has yet to be well determined. Animals have a
vomeronasal organ (VNO), which perceives the substance and then
leads them to mate. Some anatomists don't think humans have a
VNO; others think they've found pits inside our nostrils that
might be VNOs, but may not work.
Pheromones in humans are believed to be produced by the apocrine
glands. These glands become functional after reaching puberty,
which could explain why most people develop an attraction for
others at that time. Pheromones could also be the reason why a
person can sense "chemistry", or feel an instant attraction or
dislike when first meeting someone.
The Swiss researchers found that women taking oral
contraceptives (which block conception by tricking the body into
thinking it's pregnant) reported reversed preferences, liking
more the smells that reminded them of home and kin. Since the
Pill reverses natural preferences, a woman may feel attracted to
men she wouldn't normally notice if she were not on birth
control--men who have similar MHC profiles.
Dr. Cutler's original studies in the '70s showed that women who
have regular sex with men have more regular menstrual cycles
than women who have sporadic sex. Regular sex delayed the
decline of estrogen and made women more fertile. This led the
research team to look for what the man was providing in the
equation. By 1986 they realized it was pheromones.
When you're looking for the man or woman of your dreams,
unsuspecting pheromones in your body scent are most likely
playing a large and very clever role in mate attraction.
According to an article in "Psychology Today," how our body
odors are perceived as pleasant and sexy to another person is a
highly selective process. We usually smell best to a person
whose genetically based immunity to disease differs most from
our own. This could benefit you in the long run, making for
stronger, healthier children.
The alluring chemical scent that young women give off to attract
men seems to provide the same effect for post-menopausal women.
When the scientists added the scent, a pheromone, to perfume
used by older women, their romantic lives seemed to improve, the
researchers wrote in New Scientist magazine. The study was also
published in the Journal of Sex Behavior. Study leader Joan
Friebely and her colleagues applied the test to 44
post-menopausal women. Those who used the treated perfume found
their partners to be more affectionate than those who used the
normal perfume.