Medical research

The neurobiology of food attraction

Animals use their sense of smell to navigate the world—to find food, sniff out mates and smell danger. But when a hungry animal smells food and a member of the opposite sex at the same time, what makes dinner the more attractive ...

Medical research

New study reveals the cause of sensory changes in starved state

Korean researchers have verified the correlation between animals' sensory nerve activation and behavioral changes caused by insulin secretion in a feeding state. The result provided a clue to identify the causes of unusual ...

Neuroscience

How pheromones trigger female sexual behavior

A study by a group of Japanese scientists showed how a male pheromone in mice enhances sexual behaviors in females—and how it may enhance a different behavior, aggression, in males—by identifying distinct neural circuits ...

Neuroscience

Delicate magnolia scent activates human pheromone receptor

The question if humans can communicate via pheromones in the same way as animals is under debate. Cell physiologists at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum have demonstrated that the odorous substance Hedione activates the putative ...

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Pheromone

A pheromone (from Greek φέρω phero "to bear" + hormone from Greek ὁρμή - "impetus") is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual. There are alarm pheromones, food trail pheromones, sex pheromones, and many others that affect behavior or physiology. Their use among insects has been particularly well documented. In addition, some vertebrates and plants communicate by using pheromones.

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