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Vitamins and Hormones 2010Body odors carry informational cues of great importance for individuals across a wide range of species, and signals hidden within the body odor cocktail are known to... (Review)
Review
Body odors carry informational cues of great importance for individuals across a wide range of species, and signals hidden within the body odor cocktail are known to regulate several key behaviors in animals. For a long time, the notion that humans may be among these species has been dismissed. We now know, however, that each human has a unique odor signature that carries information related to his or her genetic makeup, as well as information about personal environmental variables, such as diet and hygiene. Although a substantial number of studies have investigated the behavioral effects of body odors, only a handful have studied central processing. Recent studies have, however, demonstrated that the human brain responds to fear signals hidden within the body odor cocktail, is able to extract kin specific signals, and processes body odors differently than other perceptually similar odors. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the current knowledge of how the human brain processes body odors and the potential importance these signals have for us in everyday life.
Topics: Family; Fear; Humans; Neurons; Odorants; Olfactory Pathways; Olfactory Perception; Pheromones, Human; Smell
PubMed: 20831940
DOI: 10.1016/S0083-6729(10)83001-8 -
Chemical Senses Jan 2022Emotions can be communicated in social contexts through chemosignals contained in human body odors. The transmission of positive emotions via these signals has received...
Emotions can be communicated in social contexts through chemosignals contained in human body odors. The transmission of positive emotions via these signals has received little interest in past research focused mainly on negative emotional transmission. Furthermore, how the use of perfumed products might modulate this transmission remains poorly understood. To investigate human positive chemical communication, we explored the autonomic, verbal, and behavioral responses of receivers exposed to body odors of donors having undergone a within-subject positive or neutral mood induction procedure. These responses were compared with those obtained after exposure to the same body odors with added fragrance. Our findings suggest that positive emotions can be transmitted through body odor. They not only induced modifications at the physiological (heart rate) and verbal levels (perceived intensity and familiarity) but also at the behavioral level, with an improved performance on creativity tasks. Perfume did not modulate the physiological effects and had a synergistic effect on the positive body odor ratings (increased perceived differences between the neutral and positive body odor).
Topics: Emotions; Humans; Odorants; Perfume; Smell; Sweat
PubMed: 35588293
DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjac012 -
Developmental Science Mar 2020To successfully interact with a rich and ambiguous visual environment, the human brain learns to differentiate visual stimuli and to produce the same response to subsets...
To successfully interact with a rich and ambiguous visual environment, the human brain learns to differentiate visual stimuli and to produce the same response to subsets of these stimuli despite their physical difference. Although this visual categorization function is traditionally investigated from a unisensory perspective, its early development is inherently constrained by multisensory inputs. In particular, an early-maturing sensory system such as olfaction is ideally suited to support the immature visual system in infancy by providing stability and familiarity to a rapidly changing visual environment. Here, we test the hypothesis that rapid visual categorization of salient visual signals for the young infant brain, human faces, is shaped by another highly relevant human-related input from the olfactory system, the mother's body odor. We observe that a right-hemispheric neural signature of single-glance face categorization from natural images is significantly enhanced in the maternal versus a control odor context in individual 4-month-old infant brains. A lack of difference between odor conditions for the common brain response elicited by both face and non-face images rules out a mere enhancement of arousal or visual attention in the maternal odor context. These observations show that face-selective neural activity in infancy is mediated by the presence of a (maternal) body odor, providing strong support for multisensory inputs driving category acquisition in the developing human brain and having important implications for our understanding of human perceptual development.
Topics: Attention; Brain; Brain Mapping; Child Development; Facial Recognition; Female; Humans; Infant; Male; Mothers; Odorants; Smell
PubMed: 31175678
DOI: 10.1111/desc.12877 -
General Hospital Psychiatry 2011Olfactory reference syndrome (ORS) - preoccupation with a false belief that one emits a foul or offensive body odor - has been described around the world for more than a...
OBJECTIVE
Olfactory reference syndrome (ORS) - preoccupation with a false belief that one emits a foul or offensive body odor - has been described around the world for more than a century. However, only a few small studies have systematically assessed ORS's clinical features.
METHOD
Twenty patients with ORS were systematically assessed using semistructured measures.
RESULTS
Subjects' mean age was 33.4±14.1; 60% were female. Preoccupation most often focused on the mouth (75%), armpits (60%) and genitals (35%). Bad breath (75%) and sweat (65%) were the most common odor descriptions. Currently, 85% of subjects had delusional ORS beliefs, 77% had referential thinking and 85% reported actually smelling the odor. Ninety-five percent of subjects reported performing one or more ORS-related repetitive behaviors (e.g., excessive showering). Forty percent had been housebound for at least 1 week because of ORS symptoms, 68% had a history of suicidal ideation, 32% had attempted suicide and 53% had been psychiatrically hospitalized. Forty-four percent of subjects had sought nonpsychiatric medical, surgical or dental treatment for the perceived odor, and one third had received such treatment, which was ineffective in all cases.
CONCLUSION
ORS appears to be characterized by high morbidity and seeking of nonpsychiatric treatment.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Female; Human Body; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Odorants; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Phobic Disorders; Syndrome; Young Adult
PubMed: 21762838
DOI: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2011.04.004 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Sep 2021The odors and emanations released from the human body can provide important information about the health status of individuals and the presence or absence of diseases....
The odors and emanations released from the human body can provide important information about the health status of individuals and the presence or absence of diseases. Since these components often emanate from the body surface in very small quantities, a simple sampling and sensitive analytical method is required. In this study, we developed a non-invasive analytical method for the measurement of the body odor component 2-nonenal by headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry by selective ion monitoring. Using a StableFlex PDMS/DVB fiber, 2-nonenal was efficiently extracted and enriched by fiber exposition at 50 °C for 45 min and was separated within 10 min using a DB-1 capillary column. Body odor sample was easily collected by gauze wiping. The limit of detection of 2-nonenal collected in gauze was 22 pg (S/N = 3), and the linearity was obtained in the range of 1-50 ng with a correlation coefficient of 0.991. The method successfully analyzed 2-nonenal in skin emissions and secretions and was applied to the analysis of body odor changes in various lifestyles, including the use of cosmetics, food intake, cigarette smoking, and stress load.
Topics: Aldehydes; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Humans; Limit of Detection; Odorants; Solid Phase Microextraction
PubMed: 34641283
DOI: 10.3390/molecules26195739 -
Current Opinion in Neurobiology Dec 2015Learning permits animals to attach meaning and context to sensory stimuli. How this information is coded in neural networks in the brain, and appropriately retrieved and... (Review)
Review
Learning permits animals to attach meaning and context to sensory stimuli. How this information is coded in neural networks in the brain, and appropriately retrieved and utilized to guide behavior, is poorly understood. In the fruit fly olfactory memories of particular value are represented within sparse populations of odor-activated Kenyon cells (KCs) in the mushroom body ensemble. During learning reinforcing dopaminergic neurons skew the mushroom body network by driving zonally restricted plasticity at synaptic junctions between the KCs and subsets of the overall small collection of mushroom body output neurons. Reactivation of this skewed KC-output neuron network retrieves memory of odor valence and guides appropriate approach or avoidance behavior.
Topics: Animals; Dopaminergic Neurons; Drosophila; Learning; Mushroom Bodies; Nerve Net; Olfactory Perception
PubMed: 26496148
DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2015.10.002 -
Current Biology : CB Mar 2021The mushroom body (MB) of Drosophila melanogaster has multiple functions in controlling memory and behavior. However, circuit mechanisms that generate this functional...
The mushroom body (MB) of Drosophila melanogaster has multiple functions in controlling memory and behavior. However, circuit mechanisms that generate this functional diversity are largely unclear. Here, we systematically probed the behavioral contribution of each type of MB output neuron (MBON) by blocking during acquisition, retention, or retrieval of reward or punishment memories. We evaluated the contribution using two conditioned responses: memory-guided odor choice and odor source attraction. Quantitative analysis revealed that these conditioned odor responses are controlled by different sets of MBONs. We found that the valence of memory, rather than the transition of memory steps, has a larger impact on the patterns of required MBONs. Moreover, we found that the glutamatergic MBONs forming recurrent circuits commonly contribute to appetitive memory acquisition, suggesting a pivotal role of this circuit motif for reward processing. Our results provide principles how the MB output circuit processes associative memories of different valence and controls distinct memory-guided behaviors.
Topics: Animals; Conditioning, Classical; Drosophila melanogaster; Memory; Mushroom Bodies; Odorants
PubMed: 33476556
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.12.032 -
International Journal of Environmental... Dec 2022Body odor is a biometric feature unique to each individual, and it can be used for authentication. However, decision makers must learn about the users' level of...
Body odor is a biometric feature unique to each individual, and it can be used for authentication. However, decision makers must learn about the users' level of acceptance of this technology, as well as their thoughts on the system's features and procedures. In this study, a technology acceptance model (TAM) for body-odor-based biometric techniques named OdorTAM was proposed and validated. An English language questionnaire was developed in a web-based, easy-to-read format on Google Forms. The survey consisted of 19 questions, and 150 responses were received. Statistical analysis of the responses was carried out, and it was found that all the hypotheses were supported. Therefore, the OdorTAM model appears to be satisfactory. To this end, we posit that a body-odor-based biometric technique can be one of the alternatives for authentication, and it can also be used along with some other techniques for improved security. The study contributes to the literature on consumers' understanding of biometric technologies, in particular odor detection, which has received relatively less attention in extant research.
Topics: Humans; Body Odor; Odorants; Biometric Identification; Human Body; Computer Security
PubMed: 36554657
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192416777 -
Biology Methods & Protocols 2019Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), produced and emitted through the metabolism of cancer cells or the body's immune system, are considered novel cancer biomarkers for... (Review)
Review
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), produced and emitted through the metabolism of cancer cells or the body's immune system, are considered novel cancer biomarkers for diagnostic purposes. Of late, a large number of work has been done to find a relationship between VOCs' signature of body and cancer. Cancer-related VOCs can be used to detect several types of cancers at the earlier stages which in turn provide a significantly higher chance of survival. Here we aim to provide an updated picture of cancer-related VOCs based on recent findings in this field focusing on cancer odor database.
PubMed: 32161807
DOI: 10.1093/biomethods/bpz014 -
ELife Sep 2020Mammalian olfaction and reproduction are tightly linked, a link less explored in humans. Here, we asked whether human unexplained repeated pregnancy loss (uRPL) is...
Mammalian olfaction and reproduction are tightly linked, a link less explored in humans. Here, we asked whether human unexplained repeated pregnancy loss (uRPL) is associated with altered olfaction, and particularly altered olfactory responses to body-odor. We found that whereas most women with uRPL could identify the body-odor of their spouse, most control women could not. Moreover, women with uRPL rated the perceptual attributes of men's body-odor differently from controls. These pronounced differences were accompanied by an only modest albeit significant advantage in ordinary, non-body-odor-related olfaction in uRPL. Next, using structural and functional brain imaging, we found that in comparison to controls, most women with uRPL had smaller olfactory bulbs, yet increased hypothalamic response in association with men's body-odor. These findings combine to suggest altered olfactory perceptual and brain responses in women experiencing uRPL, particularly in relation to men's body-odor. Whether this link has any causal aspects to it remains to be explored.
Topics: Abortion, Habitual; Adult; Female; Humans; Hypothalamus; Male; Odorants; Olfaction Disorders; Olfactory Bulb; Prefrontal Cortex; Pregnancy; Smell
PubMed: 32988456
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.55305