I recently read on article on human pheromones, and became quite intrigued by it. I took a further interest in the subject and googled it. The first results were of companies, making some of what seemed to be, outlandish claims about their products ability to increase a persons attractiveness to the opposite sex. Scrolling down the page I found what i was looking for, articles and research on the subject of human pheromones. Upon reading them I found several conflicting views of whether or not humans produce pheromones and, whether or not humans even have a vomeronasal organ, the organ used to process pheromones. So this brings me to some questions:
1. Do humans have a vomeronasal organ?
2. Do humans produce pheromones?
3. If 1. and 2. are yes, do humans use pheromones in mate selection?
4. If 1,2. and 3. are yes, could laboratory created, or extracted pheromones increase and individual's appeal to the opposite sex.
These questions are directed primarily towards fellow doctors and medical school students, however any one with knowledge, or an opinion is of course, welcome to voice theirs.
It does appear humans produce pheromones, and until recently, I believe there was virtually no evidence that they effect sex drive. However, there has been a recent study that does seem to show that there are aspects of human pheromones that do effect sex drive.
First, though, the claims of all of the pheromone products on the market that claim to increase sex drive are unsubstantiated. I would not waste money on that stuff, but I'm guessing there is a huge market for it.
Second, the original information I remember about human pheromones had to do with how something in women's sweat would effect other women's menstrual cycles. Specifically, there is a well reported phenomenon that women who live together will start to get the menstraul cycles in synch with each other. I never studied this literature that closely, but I have heard about it.
More recently, there was a study (by the same main research group as the above research) who found that women who are lactating emit some type of pheromone that increases other women's sex drive. I'm sure there are people working feverishly on trying to identify the chemical that is causing this - there will definitely be a huge market for that product!
Here's the abstract of the study, and it should give you a start on the type of terms to look for when researching this stuff:
Hormones and Behavior
Volume 46, Issue 3 , September 2004, Pages 362-370
Olfaction, Sex, and BehaviorSocial chemosignals from breastfeeding women increase sexual motivation
Natasha A. Spencera, Martha K. McClintock, Sarah A. Sellergrena, Susan Bullivanta, Suma Jacoba and Julie A. Mennellab
Human pheromones, a type of social chemosignal, modulate endocrine function by regulating the timing of ovulation. In animals, pheromones not only regulate ovulation but also female reproductive motivation and behavior. There is no extant evidence that humans produce social chemosignals that affect human sexual motivation or reproductive behavior as occurs in other mammals. Here, we demonstrate that natural compounds collected from lactating women and their breastfeeding infants increased the sexual motivation of other women, measured as sexual desire and fantasies. Moreover, the manifestation of increased sexual motivation was different in women with a regular sexual partner. Those with a partner experienced enhanced sexual desire, whereas those without one had more sexual fantasies. These results are consistent with previous pheromonal effects on endocrine function, and warrant further study of these social chemosignals as candidates for pheromonal processes, including their effects on other aspects of motivation and behavior.
Author Keywords: Breastfeeding; Chemosignals; Lactation; Sexual motivation; Pheromone; Reproduction
I think that 1 and 2 are true, but i think that our society is a long way from producing it in labs!!!