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Human pheromones

Communication through body odour

Nature volume 392, pages 126–127 (1998)Cite this article

Human communication is dominated by auditory and visual information. In contrast, many animals use smell to communicate — both immediate and long-term effects of chemical signals have been documented within many species, from yeasts to mammals. This contrast raises two questions. Are humans well-equipped for broadcasting and receiving social chemical messages? And do we communicate through such messages? A study reported by Stern and McClintock1 on page 177 of this issue suggests that the answer to both of these questions is ‘yes’.

Almost 40 years ago, Karlson and Luscher2 coined the term pheromone, meaning a chemical that, when emitted from one animal, exerts a behavioural or physiological response in another animal of the same species. Releaser pheromones stimulate rapid behavioural changes, whereas primer pheromones result, through the neuroendocrine system, in delayed physiological or behavioural changes. Other, information pheromones are indicators of an animal's identity or territory.

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Figure 1: Phases of the menstrual cycle for the women participating in Stern and MoClintock's study1.

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  1. the Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel

    Aron Weller

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Weller, A. Communication through body odour. Nature 392, 126–127 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/32283

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