tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post2913010085046213957..comments2024-02-20T16:10:31.948-07:00Comments on First Nerve: Out of the Shadows: I No Longer Believe in Human PheromonesAvery Gilberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18104017679971839738noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-80713338996351111462014-08-24T01:32:36.249-07:002014-08-24T01:32:36.249-07:00James V Kohl, you wrote in your own research you l...James V Kohl, you wrote in your own research you linked above:<br /><br />"As used here, mammalian pheromones, including putative human pheromones (...). There is no proof as yet that any compound is a human pheromone. "<br /><br />Putative means undiscovered. I think you know very well that your "Scent of Eros" perfume is a scam.V Pierpontnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-20578123207992801882014-08-23T17:26:05.541-07:002014-08-23T17:26:05.541-07:00The Mind's Eyes: Human pheromones, neuroscienc...The Mind's Eyes: Human pheromones, neuroscience, and male sexual preferences http://www.sexarchive.info/BIB/kohl.htm<br /><br />Echoed in: Gender effects and sexual-orientation impact on androstadienone-evoked behavior and neural processing http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnins.2014.00195/abstract<br /><br />The details on molecular epigenetics that link species from microbes to man in our 1996 Hormones and Behavior review have gone missing from the most recent report along with any acknowledgement of my other published works. Perhaps all that's required to keep ignoring biologically-based cause and effect across all species is to continue to re-define "pheromones" in an effort to present what others may then think is new information.JVKohlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14452449904468736088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-48009842101224402832012-03-22T19:48:45.633-07:002012-03-22T19:48:45.633-07:00Avery,
Thanks. Unlike nutrient chemicals associate...Avery,<br />Thanks. Unlike nutrient chemicals associated with food odors, pheromones are a special class of chemicals because they are species specific across species from microbes to man.James V. Kohlhttp://www.pheromones.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-6950380976631400402012-03-17T16:14:31.478-07:002012-03-17T16:14:31.478-07:00To my readers:
James V. Kohl's most recent co...To my readers:<br /><br />James V. Kohl's most recent comment was submitted yesterday morning but not immediately posted because Blogger directed it to a spam inbox. I discovered this a few minutes ago and posted it immediately. I apologize for the delay.<br /><br />The paper he refers to is available <a href="http://www.socioaffectiveneuroscipsychol.net/index.php/snp/article/view/17338" rel="nofollow">here</a>.<br /><br />Regarding his argument, I have only one observation. If there are so many parallels between pheromones/social odors and food odors, doesn't that argue against pheromones being a special class of chemicals in mammals?Avery Gilberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18104017679971839738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-18365428787056765332012-03-16T05:51:46.655-07:002012-03-16T05:51:46.655-07:00Published yesterday in Socioaffective Neuroscience...Published yesterday in Socioaffective Neuroscience & Psychology. Along with the other articles in this issue, my article makes clear that pheromones are ubiquitous from microbes to man, and the molecular mechanisms of their effects on behavior are the same in insects and mammals, as would be expected from what is known about the difference between nutrient chemicals and pheromones.<br /><br />Human pheromones and food odors: epigenetic influences on the socioaffective nature of evolved behaviors .<br /> <br /><br />Background: Olfactory cues directly link the environment to gene expression. Two types of olfactory cues, food odors and social odors, alter genetically predisposed hormone-mediated activity in the mammalian brain. Methods: The honeybee is a model organism for understanding the epigenetic link from food odors and social odors to neural networks of the mammalian brain, which ultimately determine human behavior. Results: Pertinent aspects that extend the honeybee model to human behavior include bottom-up followed by top-down gene, cell, tissue, organ, organ-system, and organism reciprocity; neurophysiological effects of food odors and of sexually dimorphic, species-specific social odors; a model of motor function required for social selection that precedes sexual selection; and hormonal effects that link current neuroscience to social science affects on the development of animal behavior. Conclusion: As the psychological influence of food odors and social orders is examined in detail, the socioaffective nature of olfactory cues on the biologically based development of sexual preferences across all species that sexually reproduce becomes clearerJames V. Kohlhttp://www.pheromones.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-8036688526837142922011-03-05T07:21:18.136-07:002011-03-05T07:21:18.136-07:00I fully support the opinion of James Kohl about ph...I fully support the opinion of James Kohl about pheromones. There are numerous papers that show evidence for (i) priming effects of released intraspecific semiochemicals on the hypothalamus-hypophyseal-gonadal axis of both non-mammalian and mammalian species, resulting in elevated (steroid) hormone secretion, and (2) the releasing effects of such compounds on the behavior of many vertebrates. I recently reviewed the knowledge on such semiochemicals, termed pheromones, in my recent book ‘Intraspecific chemical communication in vertebrates with special attention to sex pheromones’, 191 pp; ISBN: 978-90-77713-78-5; @ 2011 by R. van den Hurk (r.vandenhurk@planet.nl). <br />The opinion of Doty that pheromones are a myth is a consequence of the lack of an appropriate and uniformous pheromone definition. In my opinion, pheromones are excreted, intraspecific working semiochemicals that (at least initially) act unconscious and in concentrations of nanograms to picograms. If a semiochemical is effective only in larger concentrations, it isn’t a pheromone but an odorant. When administered in higher concentrations, pheromones often result in no or a repulsive behavioral effect. <br />The Chanel 5 experiment shows a learned effect on mammals. Chanel 5 is not excreted by mammals, so cannot be termed a pheromone. It is an odorant. <br />Within a group of zebrafish, the significance of a sex pheromone has to be experienced (learned); isolated male conspecifics do not have the skill to discriminate female sex pheromones. Upon a confrontation with a female, the males start fighting often resulting in their death. A pheromonal experience is possibly recorded in a certain part of the cortex, whereafter a pheromone does not necessarily act unconscious anymore. <br /><br />Rob van den HurkAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-74706347474266500072010-12-12T16:35:46.781-07:002010-12-12T16:35:46.781-07:00Avery,
I will try to succinctly address your poin...Avery,<br /><br />I will try to succinctly address your points.<br /><br />The required levels of biological organization (i.e., gene-cell-tissue-organ-organ system) have been detailed. So has the evolved neurophysiological mechanism that links mammalian pheromones to their priming effect on hormones. The evidence is not weak, it's overwhelming!<br /><br />I do not advocate stretching the original definition of pheromones. They are social odors and they release definite behaviors. The definite behaviors exist because of the developmental (hormone-driven) processes the pheromones effect. <br /><br />I do not advocate limiting the original definition. There is no science from any species that indicates that the concept infers (as Doty does on page 3) “…that a plurality of mammalian behaviors and endocrine responses is uniquely determined in an invariant way by single or small sets of chemical stimuli….” <br /><br />The male mouse (or the males and females of any species) must first have been genetically predisposed to respond (or not) to the epigenetic influence (on hormones) of a mother’s pheromones. Otherwise no animal could be conditioned to respond to the initial association of a mother’s pheromones with the odor of a perfume. <br /><br />Maternal pheromones can be considered sex pheromones because females produce more of the hormones that metabolize to the pheromones of females than do males (and vice versa). These sex pheromones also are processed by a sexually differentiated olfactory system, which allows them to have a different effect on the hormones of males than on the hormones of females, and the effect on hormones is what causes the behavioral affects. <br /><br />The sexual dimorphism is the main reason to keep the concept of sex pheromones, as they are central to the development of sexual preferences. Food odors, for comparison, are central to the development of food preferences, but there is no sexual dimorphism in the food odors or in how they effect the hormones of males and females, or in how those hormones affect behavior. <br /><br />If we eliminate the concept of sex pheromones, there is no biologically based explanation for the development of either typical or atypical mammalian sexual preferences (and associated behaviors that are sometimes manifest). Doty's attempt to disprove the existence of mammalian pheromones, which include mammalian sex pheromones is akin to me attempting to prove that food odors don't exist. After all, no single or small sets of food odor uniquely determine in a invariant way the plurality of mammalian behaviors and endocrine responses associated with the development of food preferences.<br /><br />The rest of the story will become much more clear in the next few months as the eusocial insect model of olfactory/pheromonal influences is extended to mammals, including humans.<br /><br />Kind regards,<br /><br />JimJames V. Kohlhttp://www.pheromones.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-69550327688819161172010-12-11T11:07:01.776-07:002010-12-11T11:07:01.776-07:00James V. Kohl:
As you point out in your book, sme...James V. Kohl:<br /><br />As you point out <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Scent-Eros-Mysteries-Human-Sexuality/dp/059523383X/" rel="nofollow">in your book</a>, smells can alter behavior indirectly by modulating hormonal and other physiological responses. This has been called the “priming pheromone” effect. Doty believes the evidence for priming pheromones in mammals is weak and artifactual. <br /><br />I think we agree that the effect of an odor often depends on the smeller’s sex, age, hormonal state, status rank, previous exposure and experience. Here’s my point: If we stretch the definition of pheromone to include all these qualifiers, we pretty much drain the term of meaning. For example, a male mouse prefers to mate with Chanel No. 5 scented females because that’s what an experimenter applied to his mother. Under the wide open definition that makes Chanel No. 5 a pheromone.<br /><br />So the alternatives are (A) a tight definition under which nothing qualifies as a sex pheromone, or (B) a loose definition which makes the concept worthless. I choose (C) none of the above.Avery Gilberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18104017679971839738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-31968983200663092712010-12-09T20:17:00.835-07:002010-12-09T20:17:00.835-07:00Nothing in the 1959 definition indicated an invari...Nothing in the 1959 definition indicated an invariant response, and with what is now known about epigenetics, the insect model of pheromones extends very well across species to include human responses. As I have continued to detail in the past two decades, the effect of pheromones is on hormones and the hormones are associated with the behavioral affect. The physiology we share with other animals is very telling when it comes to genetically predisposed responses to stimuli from our social environment. Food odors do not cause an invariant response, why would pheromones?James V. Kohlhttp://www.pheromones.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-69379462993648361242010-12-06T20:44:37.138-07:002010-12-06T20:44:37.138-07:00~x~:
Whew. I thought it was me.~x~:<br /><br />Whew. I thought it was me.Avery Gilberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18104017679971839738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-40156090792060664402010-12-06T11:03:52.945-07:002010-12-06T11:03:52.945-07:00"...Despite the fact that I believe there is ..."...Despite the fact that I believe there is overwhelming evidence for smell being central to sexual attraction, arousal and bonding."<br /><br />Avery,<br />Your way is now clear to develop and spread the true theory of how smell does help. Fragrance houses still want us to buy 'fumes before a big date. And buyers still want a little help with that date. without pheromones they'll have to come to you.EdCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-77617991516946248472010-12-06T10:09:38.241-07:002010-12-06T10:09:38.241-07:00randomness.
cause i read you pretty much daily, an...randomness.<br />cause i read you pretty much daily, and then the guide is my bathroom book...<br />random + apologetic = me~x~https://www.blogger.com/profile/03096258576176694623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-48223263452160401272010-12-05T12:37:14.059-07:002010-12-05T12:37:14.059-07:00Nathan Branch:
You must be referring to the long-...Nathan Branch:<br /><br />You must be referring to the long-suppressed story of how I almost caused a perfumer riot at Givaudan by having my technicians mix a female rhesus monkey sex pheromone in the lab. <br /><br />Ah, good times, good times.<br /><br />This means I'll probably never again be asked to comment for a sex and scent story in Allure-Cosmo-SELF-Men's Health-Redbook-Shape-Fitness-InStyle. Despite the fact that I believe there is overwhelming evidence for smell being central to sexual attraction, arousal and bonding.<br /><br />I'm just done with the term "pheromone".Avery Gilberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18104017679971839738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-7454496044695348292010-12-05T12:28:57.278-07:002010-12-05T12:28:57.278-07:00~x~:
?~x~:<br /><br />?Avery Gilberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18104017679971839738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-39796584303430617742010-12-03T22:34:18.416-07:002010-12-03T22:34:18.416-07:00Avery -- Very thoughtful and concise article. You...Avery -- Very thoughtful and concise article. You've talked before about your research into pheromones and how it constantly lead you to nothing but dead-ends, so it must be a relief of sorts to run across a book that compiles so much information into one place and makes a sound case for abandoning the study of human pheromones.<br /><br />No more wasted time and money! <br /><br />But a great conversational starter, right?Nathan Branchhttp://www.nathanbranch.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-39422994265683797072010-12-02T16:40:13.182-07:002010-12-02T16:40:13.182-07:00On this one count, you may be mistaken.
Also, the...On this one count, you may be mistaken.<br /><br />Also, the thing where he doesn't review blind *works* because he's evaluating the bottles and the companies that chose to back the juice.~x~https://www.blogger.com/profile/03096258576176694623noreply@blogger.com