How are pheremones detected?
Pheremones act very differently from ‘normal’ smells. They utilize a special sensory organ called the Vomeronasal Organ (VNO), which is separate from the normal smelling process. Typically the organ is located in the nasal passages in close proximity to the opening or Nostil. It is in the form of a pit or sac and can seem gill-like. A chemical receptor, when the VNO senses pheremones it sends a signal to the brain in a language with no words, the language of ‘instinct’. The effect is reflexive and instantaneous. Neural pathways from the VNO extend to the hypothalamus the brain’s center for primal based instincts such as thirst, hunger and sex drive.There is still much arguing about the presence of this VNO in humans, but it is well accepted that pigs and cows in the vicinity of the sex pheromones of their species will be rendered “in the mood”, even if they have no sexual experience, as long as the VNO is intact.
