Recent publication

[jvkohl]

European Journal of

Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology



http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03012115



Review
Human pheromones and sexual attraction
Karl Grammer, Bernhard Fink, and Nick Neave



Ludwig–Boltzmann-Institute for Urban Ethology, c/o Institute of
Anthropology, University of Vienna,

Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria; Human Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology and Sport

Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK.

Abstract

Olfactory communication is very

common amongst animals, and since the discovery of an accessory olfactory system in humans, possible human olfactory

communication has gained considerable scientific interest. The importance of the human sense of smell has by far

been underestimated in the past. Humans and other primates have been regarded as primarily `optical animals' with

highly developed powers of vision but a relatively undeveloped sense of smell. In recent years this assumption has

undergone major revision. Several studies indicate that humans indeed seem to use olfactory communication and are

even able to produce and perceive certain pheromones; recent studies have found that pheromones may play an

important role in the behavioural and reproduction biology of humans. In this article we review the present evidence

of the effect of human pheromones and discuss the role of olfactory cues in human sexual behaviour.

Discussion

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