The Great Pheromone Myth (opinion/review)

“If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way.” Bertrand Russell (1872 – 1970)

“We believe experts who confirm our beliefs.”

The pheromone myth:  Is a new concept needed?

Synopsis:

In 1959, pheromones were originally defined as “…substances which are secreted to the outside by an individual and received by a second individual of the same species, in which they release a specific reaction, for example, a definite behavior or a developmental process.” Dr. Richard Doty misrepresents the original concept of pheromones when he indicates the concept infers “… that a plurality of mammalian behaviors and endocrine responses is uniquely determined in an invariant way by single or small sets of chemical stimuli….” (p. 3).  Through his attempt to change the concept of mammalian pheromones, he also attempts to convince others that mammalian pheromones do not exist. Simply put, he builds a theoretical “straw man,” and then attacks it. In truth, it is inconceivable that any sensory stimulus from the social environment (e.g, an environment containing other members of the same species) determines anything about mammalian behavior in an invariant way.

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Pheromones of pregnant women effect prolactin in men

See the short video clip.

Another book author's comment on "The Great Pheromone Myth"

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627560.500-sniff-at-pheromones.html

I hope that Dr. Richard L. Doty will someday tell us who agrees with his concept of mammalian pheromones, and if anyone else agrees that they don’t exist.

Association for Chemoreception Sciences 2010

Two excerpts from presentation abstracts may be of interest to others. It is becoming more clear that odors modulate visual perception and associated behaviors as predicted by my mammalian model.

Perfume Masculinity/Femininity Affects Face Gender Judgments — Theresa White “…the masculinity/femininity of a fine fragrance influences decisions regarding gender, and that perfume acts as a relevant cue in guiding social interactions.”

The eyes see what the nose smells: Olfactory modulation of visual perception in binocular rivalry – Wen Zhou, Yi Jiang, Sheng He, Denise Chen “Our findings provide the first direct evidence that a non-visual sensory cue biases the dynamic process of binocular rivalry, thereby demonstrating olfactory modulation of visual perception…”.

Nerve Zero

Here’s a link to a 18 minute-long 2007 audio taped  interview.  Nerve Zero: The Key to Subliminal Sexual Attraction?

The tape contains fairly up-to-date information on how mammalian pheromones effect the hormone GnRH, which allows pheromones to influence behavior.

Another link to print copy also focuses on Nerve Zero, and includes my comments in the interview.