Does Our Natural Scent Influence Other People?
By: Liberty Ann
Tags: Life, Psychology, Biology, Science, History

Does Our Natural Scent Influence Other People?

In one episode of the X-Files, a murderous man lured victims so he could take over their bodies. He was able to get anyone he wanted because he was endowed with an unearthly amount of pheromones. (Season 1, episode 14)

But what exactly are pheromones? Do they really affect humans?

Photo by Hans Reniers on Unsplash

Are they real?

In the 1990s, when said X-Files episode first aired, it was undetermined if humans actually produced pheromones, let alone receptive of it. Now, its origins in the human body are still rather unclear but there’s a better understanding of its effects (kinda).

In extremely simple terms, pheromones are the chemicals that are responsible when we feel love at first sight or why we dislike someone for seemingly no reason, even if we’ve just met them. They’re “invisible chemical signals” and essentially our bodies’ discreet way of signaling that the other person is biologically compatible with us, and vice versa. This is proved to be how other animals and insects communicate with prospective partners.

In 1959, the first pheromone ever recorded, bombykol, was discovered in female silkworm moths. Even in low concentrations and over large distances, male silkworm moths are still able to pick up on it.

Regardless of pheromones’ dubious nature in humans, its existence shouldn’t be brushed off completely.

So, it’s a smell?

Pheromones are echtohormones, which are hormones that are secreted externally and can be picked up by other people. Echtohormones are in pretty much everything humans expel: urine, sebum (natural oil the skin produces), breast milk, and, wait for it… sweat.

It’s a topic of debate if the human olfactory system, which is responsible for sense of smell, contains the vomeronasal (Jacobson’s) organ, which other animals are known to have that responds to pheromone signals. However, other studies reveal that the ol’ olfactory system itself suffices in having humans sniff out pheromones, and evidence points to the vomeronasal organ being inactive after birth.

In one study: 75% of the time, on the first try, participants accurately identified their own worn clothing just by smelling it. Another study revealed 51% accuracy. This means personal scent is that distinctive and discernible among other people.

Humans naturally produce steroids (which are also hormones, not just performance enhancing drugs). The steroid glands are in the testes, ovaries, and adrenal cortex. These particular hormones are purportedly secreted in sweat and contain the chemicals androstenone, androstenol, androstadienone and estratetraenol. (The names get more complicated than that.) They’re also considered to be pheromones.

It’s inconclusive

Even with various studies and experiments, there are too many discrepancies. Aside from identifying the steroid molecules that are the likely contenders in the basis of human pheromones, everything that’s currently known about its effects could still be debunked. There’s a lot of room for speculation since human sex research isn’t a top priority right now.

A singular scientific answer that explains human sexual attractiveness to one another remains an enigma.