Psychological effects of subthreshold exposure to the putative human pheromone 4,16-androstadien-3-one

Johan N. Lundström*, Miguel Gonçalves, Francisco Esteves, Mats J. Olsson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

78 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Research on human putative pheromones has recently focused on the effects of exposure to 4,16-androstadien-3-one (androstadienone). This steroid has been observed in the skin, axillary hair, and blood plasma, primarily in males. In addition to effects of the steroid on measures of physiological arousal and brain blood flow, positive mood effects have also been reported. The current study further investigated mood effects of androstadienone exposure (250 μM) in women in two experiments. Through psychophysical testing of each individual we controlled for whether any observed mood effects could be related to sensory detection of the steroid. In both experiments, we observed positive changes of women's feeling of being focused, which could not be related to sensory detection of the steroid. Overall, the patterns of results were significantly correlated between the two experiments. In conclusion, this study corroborates earlier findings suggesting that androstadienone exposure yields effects on women's mood; the feeling of being focused. The mood effects were not dependent on menstrual cycle phase. Further, these effects are replicable and occur also when androstadienone detection is rigorously controlled for across variation in menstrual cycle.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)395-401
Number of pages7
JournalHormones and Behavior
Volume44
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2003
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Androstadienone
  • Chemosignals
  • Mood
  • Pheromones
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Steroids

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Psychological effects of subthreshold exposure to the putative human pheromone 4,16-androstadien-3-one'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this