Blackwell Synergy: J Cosmet Dermat, Vol 3, Issue 4, pp. 223-228: Is the human skin a pheromone-producing organ? (Full Text): "Review Article
Is the human skin a pheromone-producing organ?
Bettina M Pause
Summary

It is controversial whether or not humans convey specific compounds within their body odours which can potentially affect the physiology and behaviour of others. Such compounds are called pheromones and have been discovered in many other species, including mammals. It has been suggested that humans might have a special organ within their nose that can transmit such chemosensory information. However, the evidence for this organ is highly questionable. In any case, the main olfactory system is a highly diverse system, capable of transmitting pheromonal information."

Entrez PubMed: ": Nat Genet. 2002 Feb;30(2):175-9. Epub 2002 Jan 22. Related Articles, Links
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* Nat Genet. 2002 Feb;30(2):130-1.
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Paternally inherited HLA alleles are associated with women's choice of male odor.

Jacob S, McClintock MK, Zelano B, Ober C.

Institute for Mind and Biology and Department of Psychology, 5730 South Woodlawn Avenue, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a source of unique individual odors that influence individual recognition, mating preferences, nesting behavior and selective block of pregnancy in animals. Such phenomena have been difficult to study in humans, because the human leukocyte antigen (HLA, human MHC) loci are the most polymorphic loci in the human genome, with the potential to generate millions of unique combinations of genotypes. In addition, high variability in background odors, encoded by the rest of the genome and influenced by cultural practices, contribute to a low signal-to-noise ratio that could mask HLA-based olfactory cues. Here we show that women can detect differences of one HLA allele among male odor donors with different MHC genotypes. Notably, the mechanism for a woman's ability to discriminate and choose odors is based on HLA alleles inherited from her father but not her mother. The parents' HLA alleles that she does not inherit show no relationship with odor choice, despite exposure to these HLA-encoded odors throughout her life. Our data indicate that paternally inherited HLA-associated odors influence odor preference and may serve as social cues."

Positive Emotional Priming of Facial Affect Perception in Females is Diminished by Chemosensory Anxiety Signals -- Pause et al. 29 (9): 797 -- Chemical Senses: "Chemical Senses 2004 29(9):797-805; doi:10.1093/chemse/bjh245
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Chemical Senses Vol. 29 No. 9 © Oxford University Press 2004; all rights reserved
Positive Emotional Priming of Facial Affect Perception in Females is Diminished by Chemosensory Anxiety Signals
Bettina M. Pause, Anne Ohrt, Alexander Prehn and Roman Ferstl

Institute of Psychology, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, Germany

Correspondence to be sent to: Bettina M. Pause, Institute of Psychology, Christian-Albrechts-University, Olshausenstr. 62, 24098 Kiel, Germany. e-mail: bmpause@psychologie.uni-kiel.de

Chemosensory communication of anxiety is a common phenomenon in vertebrates and improves perceptual and responsive behaviour in the perceiver in order to optimize ontogenetic survival. A few rating studies reported a similar phenomenon in humans. Here, we investigated whether subliminal face perception changes in the context of chemosensory anxiety signals. Axillary sweat samples were ta"

Taylor & Francis Group - Article: "Sexual and Relationship Therapy
Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group
Issue: Volume 19, Number 4 / November 2004
Pages: 451 - 462
URL: Linking Options
DOI: 10.1080/14681990412331315135

Smells and tastes--their putative influence on sexual activity in humans

Roy J Levin

A1 University of Sheffield Sheffield UK

Abstract:

Over the past few years a number of studies have been published on chemical signalling between humans possibly influencing aspects of sexual activity. Some authors propose, from their experimental studies, that human pheromones exist and that they act through the vomeronasal organ, while others are more cautious and regard their data as showing chemical communication but not necessarily pheromonal. The review examines these studies on activation of the vomeronasal organ, female genital odours, axillary odours, menstrual synchronicity, odour and mate selection and tastes of body fluids in a critical light. A brief survey of the various body fluids/secretions that male and female sexual partners allow or prohibit tongue contact with is included.

Keywords:

Axillary Odours, Body Fluid Tastes, Body Odours, Genital Odours, Menstrual Synchronicity, Pheromones, Vaginal Fluids, Vomeronasal Organ"

Psychology Today: The Smell of Love: "A team led by Claus Wedekind at the University of Bern in Switzerland decided to see whether MHC differences in men's apocrine gland secretions affected women's ratings on male smells. The team recruited just under 100 college students. Males and females were sought from different schools, to reduce the chances that they knew each other. The men were given untreated cotton T-shirts to wear as they slept alone for two consecutive nights. They were told not to eat spicy foods; not to use deodorants, cologne, or perfumed soaps; and to avoid smoking, drinking, and sex during the two-day experiment. During the day, their sweaty shirts were kept in sealed plastic containers.

And then came the big smell test. For two weeks prior, women had used a nasal spray to protect the delicate mucous membranes lining the nose. Around the time they were ovulating (when their sense of smell is enhanced), the women were put alone in a room and presented with boxes containing the male volunteers' shirts. First they sniffed a new, unworn shirt to control for the scent of the shirts themselves. Then the women were asked to rate each man's shirt for 'sexiness,' 'pleasantness,' and 'intensity of smell.'"

Wiley InterScience: Journal: Abstract: "The Anatomical Record
Volume 235, Issue 4 , Pages 583 - 590

Published Online: 26 Jan 2005

Copyright © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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Developmental Biology
Ultrastructure of the human anogenital sweat gland
S. C. J. van der Putte
Department of Pathology, University Hospital Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands

Keywords
Skin • Vulva • Sweat glands • Histology • Ultrastructure

Abstract
A newly described type of cutaneous gland occurring in the human anogenital region was investigated in specimens from the vulva by electron microscopy. This gland, which is characterized by a long excretory duct opening at the skin surface, by a wide coiled secretory part with multiple lateral extensions in the form of diverticula and branches lined by a two-layered pseudostratified of myoepithelium, and by a luminal layer of tall columnar cells with conspicuous snouts, could not be categorized as an eccrine, apocrine, or mammary gland. Electron microscopy confirmed its separate position by showing that the luminal layer of secretory cells with prominent cytoplasmic caps had elaborately folded lateral membranes, occasional canaliculi, and a large number of uniform electron-lucent to moderately electron-dense secretory granules as part of a probable merocrine secretion. The excetory duct showed a poorly developed cuticular border. This combination of ultra-structural features is alien to the other tubular cutaneous glands. The function of this anogenital sweat gland remains obscure, but the presence of these granules suggests a secretion product that is different from that of other cuta"

Sweat secretion by human axillary apoeccrine sweat gland in vitro -- Sato and Sato 252 (1): 181 -- AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology: "Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 252: R181-R187, 1987;
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AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 252, Issue 1 181-R187, Copyright © 1987 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES
Sweat secretion by human axillary apoeccrine sweat gland in vitro

K. Sato and F. Sato

Functional characteristics of isolated single human axillary apoeccrine sweat glands have been studied using in vitro sweat induction methods. Sustained copious clear fluid secretion was evoked by methacholine (MCh), epinephrine (EP), isoproterenol (ISO), and phenylephrine (PL) in decreasing order in a pharmacologically specific manner. Apoeccrine glands showed a higher cholinergic sensitivity than eccrine sweat glands, as shown by the apparent association constant for MCh of 2.7 X 10(-7) M compared with 2.1 X 10(-6) M for the axillary eccrine sweat gland. The average total sweat rate of the apoeccrine gland for a 30-min period was sevenfold higher than that of the eccrine sweat gland. In contrast, isolated apocrine glands showed intermittent pulsatile turbid sweat secretion in response to MCh or EP. The Na+ and K+ concentration of apoeccrine glands was nearly isotonic, whereas those of apo"

Morphology and development of an apoeccrine sweat gland in human axillae -- Sato et al. 252 (1): 166 -- AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology: "Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 252: R166-R180, 1987;
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AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 252, Issue 1 166-R180, Copyright © 1987 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES
Morphology and development of an apoeccrine sweat gland in human axillae

K. Sato, R. Leidal and F. Sato

Evidence is presented that in adult human axillae there exists a third type of sweat gland tentatively designated as the apoeccrine sweat gland. This type of gland shows a segmental or diffuse apocrinelike dilatation of its secretory tubule but has a long and thin duct which does not open into a hair follicle. The electron microscopy of its dilated segment is often indistinguishable from that of the classical apocrine gland. The less remarkably dilated segment of the apoeccrine gland tends to retain intercellular canaliculi and/or dark cells. These apoeccrine glands are consistently present in adult human axillae regardless of sex or race. In the axillae of the two 6-yr-old subjects, both classical apocrine and eccrine glands were present but no apoeccrine glands were found. Between 8-14 yr of age, the number of large eccrine glands with or without partial segmental d"

CJO - Abstract: "

Selective influence of the menstrual cycle on perception of stimuli with reproductive significance: An event-related potential study
R. KRUG a1 a2 c1 , W. PLIHAL a1 , H.L. FEHM a2 and J. BORN a1 a2
a1 Physiological Psychology, University of Bamberg, Germany
a2 Clinical Neuroendocrinology, Medical University of Lübeck, Germany

Abstract

In this study, we examined changes in the event-related potential (ERP) to stimuli with and without reproductive significance occurring during the menstrual cycle. Eleven spontaneously cycling women were tested during three menstrual phases (menses, ovulatory phase, luteal phase) differing in plasma concentrations of gonadal hormones. ERPs were recorded while subjects were presented with slides showing pictures from four different stimulus categories (sexual stimuli, babies, people occupied with body care, ordinary people). Slides were presented randomly in the context of two tasks, requiring either affective processing (i.e., to judge the emotional content of a slide as positive, neutral, or negative) or structural processing (i.e., to estimate the number of parallel thin lines inserted in each picture). Menstrual phase primarily affected a late positive component (LPC) peaking 550–600 ms poststimulus. The effects were as follows: (i) During the ovulatory phase, amplitude of the LPC to sexual stimuli was larger than that evoked by the other stimulus categories. (ii) This relationship was not apparent during the other menstrual phases or (iii) during the ovulatory phase when the task required structural processing. The ovulatory increase in LPC positivity to sexual stimuli suggests a greater valence of these stimuli during a phase of increased sexual desire. The data indicate a specific effect of the menstrual cycle on the processing of sexual stimuli that increases with deeper emotional processing.
(Received April 17 1998)
(Accepted April 18 1999)

Key Words: Emotion; Drive; V"

Variations in Magnitude of Emotion: A Method Applied to Anxiety and Hostility During Phases of the Menstrual Cycle -- GOTTSCHALK et al. 24 (3): 300 -- Psychosomatic Medicine:

"Variations in Magnitude of Emotion: A Method Applied to Anxiety and Hostility During Phases of the Menstrual Cycle
LOUIS A. GOTTSCHALK M.D.1, STANLEY M. KAPLAN M.D.1, GOLDINE C. GLESER Ph.D.1, and CAROLYN M. WINGET 1

1 Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine Cincinnati, Ohio.

The sensitivity of a newly developed method of measuring immediate affect levels from small samples of speech is demonstrated by use of the method (in 5 subjects) to detect the effect on personality of the biological rhythms of the menstrual cycle. The method employs separate scoring scales for each affect to be measured. Psychoanalytic insights and principles are built into the scales, as exemplified by the verbal themes considered relevant to each affect and by the relative weights assigned verbal items. Extensive reliability and validity studies have been reported elswhere.

Four of the 5 women showed statistically significant rhythmical changes in the magnitude of at least one of the affects--anxiety, hostility outward, or hostility inward--during the sexual cycle. The changes in these affects were not similar among the women. Those psychophysiological rhythms more statistically significant appeared within women studied during a larger number of menstrual cycles. This suggests that data from more cycles tended to amplify the effects of the sexual cycle on the emotions measured by minimizing and randomizing the effect of transient intrapsychic and interpersonal events. The individual variations in anxiety and hostility levels during the sexual cycle should be accounted for by personality studies focusing on psychosexual development and conflicts.

There was a tendency for the levels of tension measured--specifically, anxiety and hostility inward--to decrease tra"