# Androstadienone attunes **URL:** \ **Category:** Studies & Abstracts\ **Created:** [January 29, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/androstadienone-attunes/25499 "2009-01-29T14:42:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jvkohl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/jvkohl/32/1297_2.png) [@jvkohl](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/jvkohl)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/androstadienone-attunes/25499/1 "2009-01-29T14:42:02Z")
**Hormones and Behavior** ([http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0018506X](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0018506X)) **Article in Press,** Accepted Manuscript Putative human [pheromone](https://a314.com/shop/) androstadienone attunes the mind specifically to emotional information **Tom A. Hummer and Martha K. McClintock** **Abstract** The putative human pheromone Δ4,16-androstadien-3-one (androstadienone), a non-androgenic steroid found in sweat and saliva, modulates psychological, physiological and hormonal responses without detection as an odor. To determine the specific psychological processes altered by androstadienone, four studies were completed by 50 men and women after solutions of 250 μM androstadienone or clove-odor control carrier, on separate days, were applied to their upper lip: (1) Face pairs were subliminally presented, with one face neutral and the other happy or angry. Androstadienone accelerated speed to locate a subsequent dot probe appearing on the same side as emotional faces, without affecting overall reaction times, indicating that androstadienone specifically enhanced automatic attention to emotional information. (2) In two Stroop paradigms, emotional or mismatched color words interfered with ink color identification. Androstadienone slowed ink color identification of emotional words, demonstrating greater allocation of attentional resources towards emotional information, with no effect on the cognitive Stroop. (3) To test effects on social cognition, participants performed two working memory tasks with distinct stimuli, neutral faces or shapes. Androstadienone did not alter attention to either the social or nonsocial images. (4) The ameliorative effects of androstadienone on self-reported attentiveness were replicated, consistent with increased attention to emotional visual stimuli. Moreover, androstadienone did not alter positive or negative mood, as participants were alone during testing, which removed emotional stimuli from social interactions with a tester. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that subliminal androstadienone guides psychological resources to specifically engage stimuli with emotional significance and does not alter attention to social or general cognitive information. ## **Keywords:** Androstadienone; Human; Pheromone; Steroid; Emotion; Attention; Behavior; Mood This article is one of the most comprehensive I’ve read. James V. Kohl `http://www.pheromones.com` ---
**Author:** ![pherophreak](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/pherophreak/32/1531_2.png) [@pherophreak](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/pherophreak)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 12:03am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/androstadienone-attunes/25499/2 "2009-02-09T00:03:26Z")
This is a good study. From what I gathered, it allows the recipient to have deeper connections and be more “in-tune” with how they are feeling, correct? ---
**Author:** ![Domnk](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/domnk/32/2269_2.png) [@Domnk](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/Domnk)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 7:34am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/androstadienone-attunes/25499/3 "2009-03-08T07:34:06Z")
> [@pherophreak](#): > > This is a good study. From what I gathered, it allows the recipient to have deeper connections and be more “in-tune” with how they are feeling, correct? Yes, it seems to imply that androstadienone allows for an enhanced ability to recognize, and empathize with, emotional responses. Right on target, pherophreak. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jvkohl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/jvkohl/32/1297_2.png) [@jvkohl](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/jvkohl)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/androstadienone-attunes/25499/4 "2009-03-08T13:27:17Z")
> [@Domnk](#): > > Yes, it seems to imply that androstadienone allows for an enhanced ability to recognize, and empathize with, emotional responses. Right on target, pherophreak. 🙂 It is especially interesting to me when data from different studies leads to integration and proof of concept. For example: [Fear-related chemosignals modulate recognition of fear in ambiguous facial expressions.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19170944?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum)Zhou W, Chen D. Psychol Sci. 2009 Feb;20(2):177-83. “…our findings on emotional chemosensory modulation of visual emotion perception add the olfactory dimension to the cross-modal integration of emotional cues, which has previously been discussed in the context of visual and auditory stimuli.” (p.182) The finding that the scent of fear affects the visual recognition of fear strongly suggests that olfactory/pheromonal cues condition our response to visual input. The combination of sensory input allows for recognition of emotion that could not be recognized if we were primarily visual creatures, and lacked the typical animal’s hormone response to chemical signals. I invite comments on the species-specificity of androstadienone. Could a dog smell a fear-related change in human androstadienone? It may be time to focus on cross-species reactions that lead to identification of species-specific “human” [pheromones](https://pheromonelabs.com/shop/). James V. Kohl ---
**Author:** ![Gone\_with\_the\_Wind](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/gone_with_the_wind/32/2227_2.png) [@Gone\_with\_the\_Wind](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/Gone_with_the_Wind)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/androstadienone-attunes/25499/5 "2009-03-08T18:59:15Z")
Was there any difference in the reactions of men and women in the subject study? ---
**Author:** ![jvkohl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/jvkohl/32/1297_2.png) [@jvkohl](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/jvkohl)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/androstadienone-attunes/25499/6 "2009-03-08T20:48:03Z")
> [@Gone\_with\_the\_Wind](#): > > Was there any difference in the reactions of men and women in the subject study? Only women were tested. James V. Kohl ---
**Author:** ![Gone\_with\_the\_Wind](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/gone_with_the_wind/32/2227_2.png) [@Gone\_with\_the\_Wind](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/Gone_with_the_Wind)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/androstadienone-attunes/25499/7 "2009-03-08T22:27:42Z")
It was this text in the first post that lead to my question on difference in effects between the sexes. **To determine the specific psychological processes altered by androstadienone, four studies were completed by 50 men and women after solutions of 250 μM androstadienone or clove-odor control carrier, on separate days, were applied to their upper lip:** James, was it the study in the first post or the second study you posted that tested only women? If you were referring to the second study in your previous reply, do you know if the first study noted any of differences between the sexes? ---
**Author:** ![jvkohl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/jvkohl/32/1297_2.png) [@jvkohl](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/jvkohl)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 1:06am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/androstadienone-attunes/25499/8 "2009-03-09T01:06:19Z")
I apologize for the confusion. The second study tested only women. In the first study (Hummer and McClintock) no sex difference was found. James V. Kohl > [@Gone\_with\_the\_Wind](#): > > It was this text in the first post that lead to my question on difference in effects between the sexes. > > **To determine the specific psychological processes altered by androstadienone, four studies were completed by 50 men and women after solutions of 250 μM androstadienone or clove-odor control carrier, on separate days, were applied to their upper lip:** > > James, was it the study in the first post or the second study you posted that tested only women? If you were referring to the second study in your previous reply, do you know if the first study noted any of differences between the sexes? ---
**Author:** ![Gone\_with\_the\_Wind](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/gone_with_the_wind/32/2227_2.png) [@Gone\_with\_the\_Wind](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/Gone_with_the_Wind)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 2:12am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/androstadienone-attunes/25499/9 "2009-03-09T02:12:45Z")
Very interesting! The perceptual effects are the same, at least in this study. Experiences related on the forum indicate that a minority of men experience depressive effects. Maybe we just don’t like to be tuned into emotions. ---
**Author:** ![otter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/898d66/32.png) [@otter](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/otter)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/androstadienone-attunes/25499/10 "2009-05-29T20:04:57Z")
One of the best i have read ..Studies/ Abstracts…😃