A New A1 Thread

[CptKipling]

I

recently caved in and bought A1, and to say nothing else it's interesting to use.





First of all I haven't noticed any depression, at least not yet.



When

I've worn it alone I have had various mixed reactions that I don't attribute to A1, but I am beginning to identify

a common factor of comfort. Bear in mind that I have only done it a few times in a few situations, so I don't want

to be any more specific than that at this stage, apart from to say that it feels more affectionate.




I've also started mixing with it; I remembered someone posting a good -none:A1 ratio and but can't find it with

the current search function.

Any help, tips, pointers or chastisement is welcome

[a.k.a.]

One None:2A1 works wonders for me.

If you have any RM try a 1:1 mix. Just be careful how much you use because it's easy to OD at that concentration.

[CptKipling]

Cheers muchy

I plan on

diluting to avoid ODing.

Incidently, how much A1 causes an OD?

[DrSmellThis]

It's not the A1 that OD's

you, it's the conversion to -none. In general, based on natural levels on various parts of the body, a 1:1 -none/A1

ratio is pretty good for sexual hits, and a 2.5:1 good for friendlier ones. As with -nol, you can reduce slightly

the -none when wearing it in anticipation of conversions. I love A1 as it's such a "basic, real-life" pheromone --

one actually found on the skin in normally high levels.

On the other hand, if it bothers you to wear it at all,

you can definitely get benefits from much smaller levels, as it most probably works through the VNO, (it for sure

activates it) though I believe standard olfaction is also involved with it.

The secret ingredient in Edge/NPA

is this way too, rumor has it, which is why folks can wear one dab of Edge to good effect (and why I am guessing it

must remain a secret ingredient, if anybody gets my drift -- think about it a while).

[Numanoid]

It's not the

A1 that OD's you, it's the conversion to -none.

I know I read that nol converts to none eventually

but I didn't know A1 did.

[DrSmellThis]

A1 is a -none precursor.

[Sagacious1420]

Glad you started a new A-1

thread CK. There's something that I've been curious about, but wasn't sure that it warranted starting a new

thread. Considering the precursor factor and the A-1 --> none conversion, has anyone tried the pit trick w/ A-1

solo. If so, any guess as to the extent of conversion and/or how long it takes to occur? I was just wondering if

you could eliminate the none in a mix and sub w/ A-1 and use a pit application.

[CptKipling]

Saggy,

I'll try that, but

I'll wait until I've mixed up some more diluted A1. I'm still playing with a batch of a mix that seems pretty

good, lucky guess with the A1 ratios



Doc,

I got the feeling that A1 was very natural and "human",

and very usefull.

So there is nobody with anything to say about an A1 only OD (ignoring the -none conversion)? I

was hoping that was the case.

How about an optimum dose?

[DrSmellThis]

Kip, I'd try just a drop,

which is enough for 2 drops PI's worth of -none; by the 1:1 ratio; or 1 drop PI, by the 2:1 ratio. I like to spread

A1 all over, including private areas, regular points, and hair. Take one drop and spread it out between 4 finger

tips, and go to town. If it bothers me, I just switch to the back of my shirt.

A great combo is A1, Edge and

unscented SOE. Instead of adding PI, as in WKM, you can allow the others to convert a little. Of course, you could

add a spray or two of Chikara for the "secrets," instead of PI. That is as good as anything out there, I'd bet.



Another way to go is just A1 and WKM, (although I've always wondered whether all that -nol was necessary, BTW).



A1 is a good alternative to WAGG for those concerned with LJBF effects.

[JDB]

Hey Guys, trying to not lose face

here, but what is the full name for A1, cant find the meaning of the abbreviation....

Thanks in advance

[CptKipling]

Cheers again Doc! I'll report

back when I've tested those suggestions out.


A1 is androstadienone (although in the LS store it's called

androstedienone I don't know which one is right, but I've always thought

adrostadienone.)

[nbnbtc]

Anyone with a

better understanding of this stuff have any thoughts on this interestingly titled and very recent study on

A1?

http://www.cns.

ki.se/en/research/balazs_gulyas/balazs_gulyas/documents/Pheromone.pdf

The putative pheromone

androstadienone activates cortical fields in the human brain related to social cognition.

Neurochem Int.

2004 Jun;44(8):595-600.

Gulyas B, Keri S, O'Sullivan BT, Decety J, Roland PE.

Department of

Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, S-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. balazs.gulyas@neuro.ki.se

[CptKipling]

Abstract:

Using 15

O-butanol positron emission tomography (PET), we measured regional cerebral blood flowchanges in five healthy young

women during exposure to androstadienone, a putative human pheromone, as well as pleasant (
-methyl-ionone),

unpleasant (methyl-thio-butanoate), and neutral (dipropylene glycol; vehicle compound) odours. Compared with the

odorous substances, androstadienone activated a widely distributed neuronal network. Two large cortical fields

exhibited consistent activation in each contrast: the anterior part of the inferior lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC)

and the posterior part of the superior temporal cortex (STP). Intriguingly, these areas were deactivated by


-methyl-ionone and methyl-thio-butanoate. These brain regions can be identified as cortical fields underlying

other than olfactory functions, including various aspects of social cognition and attention.

It's

interesting that despite A1 being rated almost neutral on a scale of -10 to 10 when rated consciously by the

test subjects, it still activated social areas of the brain.

They don't specify what social cognition A1

affects - I'm not sure that that is possible in a brain scan - but it definately states that A1 stimulated those

areas of the brain to increased activity. This means that something is going on RE social thinking, and that

we probably have a better idea of exactly what than they do

[DrSmellThis]

The fact that it affects

attention is good too. It's an attention getter, like -rone and -none.

[nbnbtc]

I just got my A1 yesterday, can't

wait to try it out. Anything new to report Cpt?

[CptKipling]

Not in terms of standalone use

(I've been busy with exams so haven't gotten round to mixing up a suitable dilution), but I am getting great

results from my mix (it's got a lot of other stuff in it though).

In the coming weeks I'll concentrate on the

following:

A1 alone

1:1 -none:A1

2:1 -none:A1

My mix gives the following approximate phero content

(mg/ml):
-none: 0.14
-nol: 0.2
-rone:

0.06
A1: 0.067
LC secret/m: 0.05



and another one I'm planning (NPA:SOE:AE:A1@ 3:1:5:1):
-none:

0.17
-nol: 0.12
-rone: 0.06
A1:

0.1
LC secret/m: 0.07

[DrSmellThis]

Keep up the good work, KIP!

[CptKipling]

bump (related to new thread)

[Irish]

A1 is the best-documented natural

phero as far as measurable effects on women’s state of mind. Whether it has an erotic effect is unclear, but it does

seem to make women feel better and be more focused on the subject at hand (presumably the male in close quarters who

is producing the stuff on his skin).

Recent work suggests other scents in combination with A-1 can shut down

its phero effects. It would be interesting for those who regularly wear A1 and are familiar with its effects to

comment on any changes they notice when using different colognes or cover scents.

[DrSmellThis]

OMG, look who's back!!!!

[DrSmellThis]

Irish, I'd

love the references for the last work. Not having seen the research, my intuition is nonetheless that this

inhibitory effect may have something to do with vibratory qualities (That was part of the idea behind my Fibonacci

experiments of old). If the vibrational theory of olfaction was correct one phero could inhibit the actions

of another without the molecules having a closely similar "shape".

Perfumers are probably more inclined than

biologist-types to buy the vibrational theory due to the experience their art has provided them. When something

smells good, it has much to do with the harmony and balance of the different components. Virtually nothing in

nature smells good or bad per se, independent of its concentration, balance, and harmony vis a vis other

things. Indole, part of the smell of poop, is also part of the smell of jasmine. In general, things in nature are

healthy when in harmony and balance, and dis-eased to the extent they are not. In other words, it might not be the

presence of other pheromones at all, per se, but rather the harmony and balance among present pheromones that are

the primary operative factors in effect inhibition/accentuation. Wearing multiple pheromones that are not balanced

among themselves might even send out a signal of poor physical and/or mental health to others. And we all know how

such signals would affect mating prospects, given the biology of natural selection.

This is for standard

olfaction, of course. It is quite possible that harmony and balance is important for "VNO olfaction" as well. On the

other hand, it is also possible that in practice A1 works more strongly through standard olfactory channels than

through the VNO, even though it electrically activates the VNO. This could also hold true for other VNO-activating

-mones.

Bottom line for non-scientific forum members: I think it is probably fine to combine A1 with

other things, especially -none. My own practical experience with A1 suggests as much.

(P.S. I hope this reply is

incentive to keep you participating in the forum! Your re-emergence is making a difference already! )

[Irish]

I was referring to the study cited

above...they had tested A1 against pleasant and unpleasant odors instead of the usual method of testing A1 against

air alone. In the Discussion section they summarize about A1 activating certain brain areas, and the olfactory

scents DEactivating the same areas - opposite effect. Don't really know what it all means - maybe more evidence

that A1 is processed separately via the VNO? In any case I was wondering if some of our cover scents might

inadvertently turn off our phero message.

McClintock and Savik have proven A1's unique brain activation on

women, and McClintock has also done good work on the psychological effects. Others have also contributed to A1

research - we know it does SOMETHING to women, but a strong erotic finding has proven elusive. It does what it does,

and if it relaxes and makes women happy, directing their attention toward a present male, well maybe that's good

enough.

On another subject, I really like Stoddart's [sp?] breakdown of perfume function - light

distracting notes on the top (the headline he calls it), steroidal notes lurking in the middle, and fecal base notes

underpinning it all. He emphasizes mightily that the mids and base must be subconsciously perceived to be effective.

Any insights along those lines would be enlightening.

[DrSmellThis]

Do you mean Michael Stoddart,

the author of The Scented Ape?

[Irish]

Yeah. His book is very

interesting.

Your ideas about balance make a lot of sense. I think it was Sobel that said we don't really

understand the language of pheros, and individual chemicals may send differing messages in different combinations

and/or concentrations. We know that's true for some animals anyway. I have always tried to build phero mixes that I

could relate to what actually appears on a human body. As you say we may not know what a healthy attractive phero

mix should say, and we may get it wrong. Our focus on what individual chemicals may or may not do may be wrongheaded

- I've always thought it was a bit more complex than a 'dash of alpha', a little 'conversation', here's some

'sensitivity' etc. The mix ratios and strength are meaningful to some animals, with complex varying messages sent

with a small palette of phero chemicals.

[DrSmellThis]

Yep. I like your last

sentence, though I'm not sure how small the palette is, given the complexity of deer musk, for example. But a small

number of chemicals still might be combined to form "words" of sorts.

I'm going to get back to you later about

Stoddart. I'm busy bottling perfume at the moment. One large post per work day should be my limit, though I can't

say I've always held myself to that.

[DrSmellThis]

Besides the numeric/geometric

Fibonacci ratio, (expressed by the sequence, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, etc.) another ratio in nature, which applies

to weight, is 15/13 (1.1538), the average adult male to female weight ratio (I've never seen anyone else talk about

this one, so "maybe I'm onto something here, maybe I'm not"). As such it suggests applicability to humanity,

sexuality and/or natural phenomena related to mass, though this is just guesswork. You could try a 15/13 A1/-none

ratio, and carry that same ratio downward when adding more mones (Disadvantage: no other whole numbers. However, it

rounds off to 15, 13, 11, 10, 9, etc.). It's hard to tell which ratios in nature apply to mones, but natural math

does tend to show up in multiple parallel places in nature. Another is the frequency ratios in the musical

scale. Root to fifth is 2:3; an octave is 1:2, and a third (I think)is about 4:5. So the normal sequence of whole

numbers works fine for establishing harmony in that range of numbers. The Pythagoreans believed odd numbers were

male and even female, which suggests to me that 3:2:1 -none to -nol to -rone might be a harmonious ratio, for

example (5, or 2+3 suggested marriage to the Pythagoreans for that reason, as did 2x3=6, the "femine number for

marriage"; as the number one was not really considered a pure odd or even number for some reason.). Of course,

natural number ratios are just possibilities for creativity and translating conceptual mix ideas into harmonious

numbers, not specific requirements. What needs to be done is to study ratios of primary scent components by weight

in EO's like sandalwood, rose and jasmine, in musks; and of course, on human skin.

Here is a relevant link on

natural numbers, from an online Dartmouth course:



http://www.dartmouth.edu/~matc/math5.geometr

y/unit4/unit4.html

And here is one on natural pheromone ratios on human skin and in sweat:



http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uid s=8142319&dopt=Abstra

ct

[DrSmellThis]

Here are the average,

naturally occuring axillary skin levels from the study:

A1.............. 17.9
-nol

..............6.9
-none ...........2.5
-dienol ..........1.9
beta-nol ........1.8

The apocrine

(hairy, sweaty area) levels, which aren't shown in the abstract, are higher in -none; and lower in everything

else. IIRC, the A1/none ratio was roughly even in apocrine sweat (A1 was only slightly bigger), and -nol was

virtually absent. Irish, do you have the full article?

Two problems with the study were small subject pools (6

men) and the fact that the observed apocrine levels could have been caused by shooting the subjects with adrenaline

during testing. So more studies need to be done before anything can be concluded.

[InternationalPlayboy]

Any word yet on when

A1 will be back in stock? I'm still bummed that I missed the "Forum Friends" discount due to credit card problems

from identity theft. (BTW, got my credit reports in the mail, and it seems I now have a residence in Texas along

with my arizona address.)

[CptKipling]

http:/

/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&li st_uids=14644633 -

Psychological effects of subthreshold exposure to the putative human pheromone 4,16-androstadien-3-one.

[Bruce]

[url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&li st_uid

s=14644633"]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&li st_uids=14644633[/u

rl] - Psychological effects of subthreshold exposure to the putative human pheromone

4,16-androstadien-3-one.

Cool study.

We are still waiting on bottles to make up more A1. It

seems like it has been ages now. What a bummer. Sorry about that.

Bruce