Humans & Pheromones: Do We Produce Them?

[Tungamirai]

do humans produce pheromones

 

[Pythagorean]

Yes, of course. Humans are mammals. Women sync their menstrual cycle through hormones (usually, syncing to the "alpha" or extrovert female) and males mess up the cycle with their pheromones.

The controversy with humans and pheromones is whether or not somebody can synthesize a cologne product that makes you more attractive. Entrepreneur scientists will publish B.S. articles just before releasing a product... then reference their own article when trying to sell the product.

 

[Evo]

It's kind of a yes/no/maybe/depends on what you mean type of issue.

It's now thought that humans may produce pheromones but can't smell them.

Here are articles for and against human pheromones.

Pheromones, which have been known to influence sexual activity, aggression, and territory marking, have been found in many animals, including amoebas, fish, hamsters, and monkeys (3). However, whether or not these chemicals affect, or even exist in humans, has been a subject for debate in the scientific community. Since pheromones are not detectable by the human sense of smell, scientists believe that pheromones are sensed by the vomeronasal organ (VNO), part of the olfactory system and located inside the mouth or nose (9). For many years, the existence of the VNO produced much speculation because it had only been found occasionally in adult humans, and when it was found, it was believed to be vestigial. However, in 1985 a study was conducted in which the noses of 100 human adults were examined post-mortem. The VNO was found in the septums of 70% of those examined. Since 1985, much evidence has been gathered to suggest the presence of the VNO in most adult humans (2), but many scientists still believe it to be a functionless organ that was inherited from some ancestor of humans. However, recent genetic research has shown the possibility of a receptor in the nose that could sense pheromones. When searching the human genome for genes that had similar sequences to those of rodent pheromone receptors, scientists found one gene that could produce a pheromone receptor, and when searching olfactory tissue from the human nose, they found this receptor (5).

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/2052

A list of studies.

http://www.macalester.edu/psychology/whathap/UBNRP/pheromone10/human pheromones.html

Sex and the nose: human pheromonal responses

http://jrsm.rsmjournals.com/content/100/6/268.full

 

[Pythagorean]

apparently, there's some controversy associated with menstrual synchronization:

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2429/does-menstrual-synchrony-really-exist

I first heard it in a scientific setting from Robert Sopolsky's lectures, which I linked in the education tuorials. In my teen years, I always heard about it as anecdotes from female peers.