Emotions are not just feelings hidden inside

Bochum: Delicate magnolia scent activates human pheromone receptor. Just like animals, humans use chemical communication. Scent molecule Hedione triggers different brain activities in men and women. The question if humans can communicate via pheromones in the same way as animals is under debate. Cell physiologists at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum have demonstrated that the odorous substance Hedione activates the putative pheromone receptor VN1R1, which occurs in the human olfactory epithelium. Together with colleagues from Dresden, the Bochum-based researchers showed that the scent of Hedione generates sex-specific activation patters in the brain, which do not occur with traditional fragrances. “These results constitute compelling evidence that a pheromone effect different from normal olfactory perception indeed exists in humans,” says scent researcher Prof Dr Dr Dr Hanns Hatt. The team published the results in the Journal “NeuroImage”.

Sex pheromone research a "waste of scientific effort"

Scimex: Scientists have been wasting their time studying a molecule that was originally proposed to be a 'sex pheromone' without any robust evidence, according to the author of a review criticising the research so far. He says that while we probably do have pheromones, scientists will need to start again and study them properly using rigorous methods already successful in pheromone research with animals.