The following is a scientific abstract by Winnifred Cutler, Ph.D., which summarizes her Poster Presentation at the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology XXXth Congress held in Florida on August 1, 1999. While olfactory sites in humans demand further research, her studies suggest the human receptor site called the Olfactory Epithelium as the source of sex-attractant pheromonal action. The VNO, Dr. Cutler reasons, seems to serve as a mediator or receptor site of the aversive, repellant-type human pheromones. By 1999, from a biological perspective, the term pheromone can be defined as a chemical excreted by animals that promotes behaviors which perpetuate the species. Four kinds of pheromonal communication have now been reported in humans as well as other animals 1.
Human data suggest a similar pattern.
Sex-attractant type pheromones can be better understood from the perspective of the historical overview. For example, the pig sex attractant androstenol has been shown to be aversive to humans in several different reports. Olfactory system research in a variety of animals currently suggests that the 2 putative olfactory receptor sites serve different pheromonal actions. In humans, olfactory sites remain unproven. Two receptor sites may exist, each performing different functions.