The Scent of a Man (article from economist.com)

[jvkohl]

How perfumes work | The scent of a man | The Economist

I know Craig Roberts, and think that this forthcoming article is likely to be scientifically significant to people on this Forum. I do not know anything about the journalistic interpretation.

James V. Kohl
http://www.pheromones.com

[Phya]

Great read, thanks!

[denec]

Thanks for this article

interesting thing I just saw a show on I think it was national geographic I cannot remember it was about 30 minutes and I cannot remember the name but I think it was called Naked Science “What is Sexy”, and one subject was basically this part to the dot

The most interesting area, though, is the interaction between perfumes and natural scents that carry messages but do not have the specific properties of pheromones. Odours co-ordinate a wide range of human behaviour. Mothers can recognise their children by smell. Children can recognise each other. Relatives can be distinguished from non-relatives, even to the extent of understanding who is genetically different enough from the smeller to be a good choice of mate. The sexes themselves smell different, too, and women can glean information about a man’s social status from his smell alone.
As long ago as the 1950s, a perfumer called Paul Jellinek noted that several ingredients of incense resembled scents of the human body. It was not until 2001, however, that Manfred Milinski and Claus Wedekind of the University of Bern wondered whether there was a correlation between the perfume a woman preferred and her own natural scent. They found that there is.
The correlation is with the genes of what is known as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). This region of the genome encodes part of the immune system. It turns out that one of the most important aspects of mate choice in mammals, humans included, is to make sure that your mate’s MHC is different from your own. Mixing up MHCs makes the immune system more effective. The MHC is also thought to act as a proxy for general outbreeding, with all the hybrid vigour that can bring. Fortunately, then, evolution has equipped mammals with the ability to detect by smell chemicals whose concentrations vary with differences in the MHC of the producer.
That means people are able to sniff out suitable MHC genomes in prospective partners. A woman, for instance, will prefer the smell of T-shirts that have been worn by men whose MHC genes are appropriately different from their own. Dr Milinski and Dr Wedekind also found an association between a woman’s MHC genes and some of her preferences for perfume. Perception of musk, rose and cardamom is correlated with the MHC. Perception of castoreum and cedar is not.
Women, it seems, choose not the kind of smell they would like on a partner, or even one that might mask a nasty odour of their own, but rather something that matches their MHC. In other words, they are advertising their own scent.
There are many useful inferences that might be drawn from this research.

They actually showed an experiment where they took 10 men who just played basketball for like 30 minutes and then had a few women who did not know any of the men smell each of the t shirts and pick out who they were attracted based on the smell of the T shirt.

Another interesting segment, i know has nothing to do with smell was scientists believe that men and women are attracted to people whose bodies are symmetrical and that men are attracted to women whose bodies are good for producing babies thus why oxytocin is so important

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[jvkohl]

@denec

Another interesting segment, i know has nothing to do with smell was scientists believe that men and women are attracted to people whose bodies are symmetrical and that men are attracted to women whose bodies are good for producing babies thus why oxytocin is so importanthttp://m1.2mdn.net/viewad/817-grey.gifhttp://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/web.economist.com/allarticles;nav=science_and_technology.all_science_and_technology.article;audience_topic=fashionandstyle;audience_channel=lifestyle;%21c=unilevernv;pos=ldb_top;tile=6;sz=728x90,468x60;ord=494348755?

Few people understand the link between symmetry and the steroid hormone metabolism that is responsible for our scent signature. But symmetry has everything to do with smell.

Menstrual cycle variation in women’s preferences for the scent of symmetrical men. Gangestad SW, Thornhill R. Proc Biol Sci. 1998 May 22;265(1399):927-33.

The oxytocin link also can be viewed from a pheromonal perspective, and I recently spoke with Helen Fisher and with Larry Young about this. There are enough references on the interaction amoung oxytocin, gonadotropin releaseing hormone, and estrogen to get people on the right track towards putting it all together. But it will take several more years (and everyone’s busy with their own thing). I’ll be seeing more of both these people during the next few months, I think–and they both have research groups that are exploring different connections in an attempt to determine why dopamine, oxytocin, norepinephrine et al., seem to play such important roles in human sexuality. But the bottom line is that they indirectly impact our response to the odor of others. Pheromones directly impact our response.

James V. Kohl

[denec]

that is interesting during the program they made no mention at all about the correlation towards scent and symmetry. They were mainly focusing on the face

if anyone is interested in the program and when it might be on again i found a link to it

Naked Science | What’s Sexy? | National Geographic Channel

[jvkohl]

@denec

that is interesting during the program they made no mention at all about the correlation towards scent and symmetry. They were mainly focusing on the face

The TV producers have not yet figured out how to represent what’s going on with our sense of smell. I’ve done several interviews, and each time the problem ends up being how they can show the audience an example of what I’m talking about. It’s much easier for them to show the work with faces–and it fits with what most people believe is true when it comes to human sexual attraction. A Discovery channel special was going to film at Ludwig Boltzman in Vienna in this regard (after the folks there had the producer contact me for the latest news on olfaction: a nice compliment from my colleagues). But, I expect the focus will change to their work on robotics, or on facial stimuli / body movement. The media is the message, and the media can’t show people the importance of olfactory/pheromonal input.

If you look at the credits for the program you linked, you find Martie Haselton, who has worked with the same people: Thornhill and Gangestad, who did the scent symmetry study. So, it’s not like these folks don’t ‘get’ the connection. Martie G. Haselton

Also listed is Lucy Brown who works with Helen Fisher, and that’s probably where the oxytocin connection came from. It’s a bit funny for me to watch this kind of show, at times. Other times, I find them offensive because they do not truly represent the science. I don’t watch much TV, but will try to remember to have someone record the show.

Thanks,

James V. Kohl

@denec

if anyone is interested in the program and when it might be on again i found a link to it

Naked Science | What’s Sexy? | National Geographic Channel

[jvkohl]

I meant to include my notes from a recent publication. Consider the fact that each preference listed correlates with increased testosterone levels in men, as does increased masculine scent production. So, what happens when we include the active ingredients from the testosterone metabolism in a human pheromone-enhanced product? It makes men smell more masculine–in case any of you didn’t know that. The trick is to come up with the right concentrations of chemicals, and show that it works in a human study. Only one group has done that: mine. I’ve always said that tall,dark and handsome is a visual description of a masculine scent signature.

Garver-Apgar, C. E., Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhil, R. (2008). Hormonal correlates of women’s mid-cycle preference for the scent of symmetry. Evolution and Human Behavior.

“When women are fertile in their cycles, in comparison with when they are in the luteal phase, they are more attracted to **masculine facial features (Johnston, Hagel, Franklin, Fink, & Grammer, 2001; Penton-Voak & Perret, 2001; Penton-Voak et al., 1999), darker facial skin color
(Frost, 1994), lower voice pitch (**Feinberg et al., 2006; Puts, 2005), masculine body odor (Grammer, 1993), the scent of men who are socially dominant (Havlicek, Roberts, & Flegr, 2005), the scent of men displaying developmental stability/bilateral symmetry (Gangestad & Thornhill, 1998a; Rikowski & Grammer, 1999; Thornhill & Gangestad,1999; Thornhill et al. 2003), masculine (or dominant) behavioral displays (Gangestad, Garver-Apgar, Simpson, & Cousins, 2007; Gangestad, Simpson, Cousins, Garver-Apgar, & Christensen, 2004; Gangestad, Thornhill, & Garver-Apgar, 2008), masculine or muscular bodies (Gangestad et al., 2007; Little, Jones, & Burriss, 2007) and creative men (Haselton & Miller, 2006; see Thornhill & Gangestad, in press, for a critical review of these and other cycle effects). Substantial evidence indicates that these shifts are specific to women’s preferences for men evaluated as sex partners and not to their preferences for men as long-term, investing mates (e.g., Gangestad et al.,2004, 2007; Haselton & Miller, 2006; Penton-Voak et al., 1999; Puts, 2005).”

James V. Kohl

Pheromone Cologne and Perfume for Men and Women | Pheromones

[denec]

@jvkohl

It’s a bit funny for me to watch this kind of show, at times. Other times, I find them offensive because they do not truly represent the science. I don’t watch much TV, but will try to remember to have someone record the show.

Thanks,

James V. Kohl

I can imagine as a scientist watching a show like this can be insulting at times, because the producers and media sometimes like to downplay or take what they want and edit to make it more enjoyable and entertaining for your average person to understand.

I was actually shocked they even mentioned the word pheromones, it could be one of the first times i remember a scientific show on mainstream TV that actually acknowledged they existed.

[jvkohl]

I’m featured in a Discovery Health channel production “What’s in a Kiss,” though I’m not sure it’s still being aired. Execs had a film crew tape me for more than 4 hours for “Survival of the Prettiest” but some producer substituted footage on cosmetic surgery, which was obviously more titilating.

I have some footage from “The aphrodisiac test,” which featured the Scent of Eros products. It’s on my scentoferos.com domain. As you can see by my site design, I’m not into marketing. Just decided to put the video out there, since the guy who markets my product never used it.

James V. Kohl