THE idea that we respond to pheromones secreted by other people has been
given a boost. Researchers have discovered that sweat contains odourless
substances that alert the brain to the presence of a potential mate.
Ivanka Savic and her team at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden wafted a
testosterone-like compound from men’s sweat and a female oestrogen-like
compound towards 12 men and 12 women.
PET scans of the subjects’ brains revealed that the hypothalamus, a region
known to be involved in pheromone detection in rats, responded differently in
men and women. In men the hypothalamus was activated by the oestrogen-like…
