# Don't trust the hype about pheromones **URL:** \ **Category:** Studies & Abstracts\ **Created:** [August 21, 2011, 3:51am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/dont-trust-the-hype-about-pheromones/51919 "2011-08-21T03:51:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **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:** [August 21, 2011, 3:51am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/dont-trust-the-hype-about-pheromones/51919/1 "2011-08-21T03:51:59Z")
**[The Scent of a Woman](http://www.slate.com/id/2301911/)** **Don’t trust the hype about [pheromones](https://a314.com/shop/) and sexual attraction.** “Doty refers to [a 2004 study on sheep](http://chemse.oxfordjournals.org/content/29/7/555.abstract) that interrogated the long-held assumption that females ovulate in the presence of males, most likely due to pheromones. The researchers put lavender on the males and after a few mating sessions, the females began ovulating from the scent of lavender alone. The findings suggest that the females’ hormonal response was an acquired behavior, rather than an innate one.” In the excerpt quoted above, Doty or an ignorant article author turned the effect of pheromones on luteinizing hormone (LH) into an acquired behavior due to lavender. Trust me, or read it yourself: The [2004 study on sheep](http://chemse.oxfordjournals.org/content/29/7/555.abstract) demonstrates that ewes learn to associate lavender odor with their sexual partner. A [2010 study](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20646176) shows this association is made via an effect on LH. A [2011 study](http://www.sciencedirect.com/hbeh/article/pii/S0018506X10002783) reports that the effect on LH is linked to testosterone levels of the male, and [results soon to be published](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0018506X11001802) show the effect of the testosterone-associated pheromones on female behavior is not due to the visual appeal of the male, and that [sexual experience is not required.](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0018506X11001772) Where’s the hype about pheromones that you can’t trust? Four additional studies show exactly the opposite of what we’re told in the article. It’s the pheromones that alter LH and behavior in the sheep (and all other mammals). The effect of food odor on LH is not due to the visual appeal of the food, either. **Trust the science!** Androstenol effects [LH in women](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10944511). It is [found in male axillary secretions](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11303754), which [influence LH and mood in women](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12606409). We used a mixture of androstenol (which effects LH), and androsterone, (which is an indicator of testosterone levels), to make a man more visually appealing. Earlier this year, our results were presented to other scientists at the Association for Chemoreception Sciences conference. We showed that [a mixture of androstenol and androsterone increased women’s observed flirtatious behavior](http://posters.f1000.com/Image?posterID=1387&type=poster) and their self-reported level of attraction. Our results indicate androsterone, which is associated with testosterone levels in human males, affects behavior during 15-minutes of exposure in a typical social circumstance. Those who understand anything about the biology of behavior will recognize the suspected effect on LH and the demonstrable behavioral affect are expected when testing either food odors or social odors. The social odors are pheromones. Adding human pheromones (specifically, our mixture of androstenol and androsterone) increases sex appeal the same way adding spice increases the appeal of food. Not everyone will respond favorably to all pheromones or all spices, but the effect on hormones and affects on behavior are very predictable. Only a fool would argue against cause and effect with regard to pheromones in any species. So, who’s fooling who about human pheromones, sexual attraction, and who you can trust? ---
**Author:** ![SteveO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@SteveO](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/SteveO)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/dont-trust-the-hype-about-pheromones/51919/2 "2011-09-09T18:53:44Z")
Are people in your industry James, starting to question Dotty’s motives? I find it difficult to comprehend how anyone can pay credence to a book that overlooks or completely omits verifiable sources. Almost seems like career suicide. I couldn’t imagine if someone like Hawkins did something like this in Physics. Even with his genius he would be laughed out of the field. I suppose pheromones with the proliferation of sites like Pherlure and others it verges on quackery, which is sad. ---
**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:** [September 10, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/dont-trust-the-hype-about-pheromones/51919/3 "2011-09-10T01:17:05Z")
> [@Steve](#): > > Are people in your industry James, starting to question Dotty’s motives? I find it difficult to comprehend how anyone can pay credence to a book that overlooks or completely omits verifiable sources. Almost seems like career suicide. I couldn’t imagine if someone like Hawkins did something like this in Physics. Even with his genius he would be laughed out of the field. I suppose pheromones with the proliferation of sites like Pherlure and others it verges on quackery, which is sad. No one I know has questioned Doty’s motives. Perhaps others do not understand the concept of the “straw man” argument in debate. First you misrepresent the concept, then you invalidate your misrepresentation. On page 3 of his book he says: “A key element of my thesis is that it is erroneous to infer that a plurality of mammalian behaviors and endocrine responses is uniquely determined in an invariant way by single or small sets of chemical stimuli and to apply a generic and misleading name to the presumptive agents in support of such an inference.” It is equally erroneous to infer that a plurality of mammalian behaviors and endocrine responses are uniquely determined in an invariant way by single or small sets of chemical stimuli that are generically named food odors. Experience determines the endocrine and behavioral responses associated with food odors and pheromones. Using Doty’s misrepresentation and what might initially appear to be logic, if there are no pheromones, there are no food odors. Duh! That can’t be right, can it? James V. Kohl > **[Pheromone Cologne and Perfume for Men and Women | Pheromones](https://www.pheromones.com/)** > > Scented and unscented pheromone colognes and perfumes. Over 20 years in business, free U.S. shipping, and a 60-day money-back guarantee. ---
**Author:** ![SteveO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@SteveO](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/SteveO)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/dont-trust-the-hype-about-pheromones/51919/4 "2011-09-12T17:22:45Z")
It’s shocking really! Even more so, is the lack of researchers coming forward to dissuade others from agreeing with Doty, except of course you. Perhaps his arguments are to far out and disjointed to pay credence with scientific research? Only time will tell, but I am certain when all the cards are on the table, the truth will relegate Doty to the annals of history as wrong. You might not believe this but I can actually smell food odors and here’s another bit of quackery from me; pheromones work with brilliant results 😛. ---
**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:** [September 12, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/dont-trust-the-hype-about-pheromones/51919/5 "2011-09-12T18:00:49Z")
> [@Steve](#): > > It’s shocking really! Even more so, is the lack of researchers coming forward to dissuade others from agreeing with Doty, except of course you. Perhaps his arguments are to far out and disjointed to pay credence with scientific research? Only time will tell, but I am certain when all the cards are on the table, the truth will relegate Doty to the annals of history as wrong. You might not believe this but I can actually smell food odors and here’s another bit of quackery from me; pheromones work with brilliant results 😛. It is unfortunate that others are so rarely convinced either by animal models or by data from human studies that we are influenced by pheromones like all other animals. But here we have an article from the journal “Science” that technically states our closest relatives “mixed” their genes. [The Shaping of Modern Human Immune Systems by Multiregional Admixture with Archaic Humans](http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2011/08/19/science.1209202.abstract). The article brings to bear the development of the mammalian immune system which parallels the development of the mammalian olfactory system, and this evolutionary development is directly dependent on the ability to sniff out genetic differences in a potential mate (same as in yeasts, albeit we don’t refer to sniffing in yeasts). In any case, few people understand what the word Paleoanthropology means and even most journalists would not posit the role for [human pheromones](https://pheromonelabs.com/), which must be involved in mating across similar species and symbiogenesis. See for example: [A Denisovan legacy in the immune system](http://www.sciencemag.org/content/333/6046/1086.full?sid=96ae84b0-b0ec-4456-a5e0-f11d22e9e31a). If not for the credibility of people like you who can actually smell food odors, we might have no indication that human pheromones exist, whether or not they are consciously detected. And, if not for people like me, whose credibility is questioned by Doty’s failure to include anything about my work, little would be known about the evolved neurophysiological mechanism that links pheromones to behavior in all species, which explains why they work in humans – as you have suggested. For all we know Doty is a asexual congenital anosmic, which might explain his uneducated opinionated position on mammalian pheromones. But it’s the folks like him who are getting funding for olfactory research, not the independent researchers like me who must develop products that work before accumulating the funds from product sales and consulting that allowed me to show that they work. [Human pheromones, epigenetics, physiology, and the development of animal behavior](http://posters.f1000.com/Image?posterID=1387&type=poster) Quack, Quack! The difference between being controversial and being wrong is the magnitude of ignorance. Doty considers his opinion to be controversial. James V. Kohl > **[Pheromone Cologne and Perfume for Men and Women | Pheromones](https://www.pheromones.com/)** > > Scented and unscented pheromone colognes and perfumes. Over 20 years in business, free U.S. shipping, and a 60-day money-back guarantee. ---
**Author:** ![fbexpt](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/fbexpt/32/1707_2.png) [@fbexpt](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/fbexpt)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/dont-trust-the-hype-about-pheromones/51919/6 "2011-10-22T15:53:53Z")
Thus far in my research mones work. End of story ---
**Author:** ![jett](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/jett/32/438_2.png) [@jett](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/jett)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 2:31am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/dont-trust-the-hype-about-pheromones/51919/7 "2012-02-02T02:31:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Adding human pheromones (specifically, our mixture of [androstenol](https://a314.com/product/instant-openness/) and androsterone) increases sex appeal the same way adding spice increases the appeal of food. This is a good way of putting it. Pheromones add “social spice”. I can agree with that.