Studies show that it is possible for humans to emit pheromones.
There is an ongoing debate on whether pheromones appear in humans with few definitive answers. Some scientists have discovered that exposure to body odor causes reactions in humans – such as menstrual cycle changes when a woman is exposed to the sweat of another woman. However, Daisy Yuhas, of Scientific American says, “We have yet to find direct evidence of [pheromone] existence in humans.”
There is not enough of a strong, consistent reaction to a chemical cue produced by a human. Despite this, many people seem to believe that we produce these pheromones to attract the opposite sex. Kids have whispered conversations with each other, “Did you know boys have these smells we can’t detect, but they attract girls?” There are even love potions and perfumes that claim to help enhance this power using pheromones, but Yuhas says they use pig pheromones, which have no effect on humans.
Is it possible for humans to produce an odor that elicit physiological responses in another?
A study suggests that we have a chemical messenger, or a “modulator” pheromone, that dictates the mood and mental state of the target. For example, in 2009, Stony Brook University found that smelling the sweat from a first-time parachute jumper would increase the person’s capability to distinguish emotional expressions that are vague or have double meanings. This means that the chemicals from the jumper’s sweat create an alarm signal, which then puts the recipient on high alert and thus, allowing them to pay closer attention to details.
David Wolfgang-Kimball of anapsid.org claims that humans produce odors through their apocrine sebaceous glands, or glands found throughout your body beneath the skin. There are large concentrations of these glands in your armpits, around your nipples, the genital region and around the mouth and lips. These glands are associated with sweat glands and hair growth, and they usually develop during puberty. Wolfgang-Kimball believes puberty and the appearance of the glands at the same time suggest that body odor and its subsequent dispersion may be linked with sexual development.
There are other studies that suggest males have a unique musk that women are more perceptible to when they are ovulating (or at their peak fertility period). Women who are on birth control pills or post-menopause are the least perceptible to the male musk. Other studies show that women may unconsciously mark their babies with an odor. Babies are offered pads with their mother’s scent on them while sleeping. At eight weeks old, the babies will react to the pads by sucking at them. When given a strangers pad, the babies would not react or, in one case, jerk away.
So, do humans really emit pheromones? At this point in time, no one can say for sure. Researchers are still searching for evidence of human pheromones.
