Do sweaty men turn women on?
Informal office polls say no, but science tells a different story. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have conducted a study that concluded a few whiffs of androstadienone–a pheromone found in male sweat and perfumes–can raise levels of the hormone cortisol in women. Cortisol is associated with stress, but also arousal and brain activation. The study, reported this week in The Journal of Neuroscience, provides the first direct evidence that humans, like rats and some insects, secrete a scent that affects the physiology of the opposite sex. “Many people argue that human pheromones don’t exist, because humans don’t exhibit stereotyped behavior,” said Claire Wyart, a postdoctoral researcher in the Berkeley Olfactory Research Program, in a prepared statement. “Nonetheless, this male chemical signal, androstadienone, does cause hormonal as well as physiological and psychological changes in women. More cognitive studies need to be done to understand how androstadienone a
