Sniffing a human sex-steroid derived compound affects mood and autonomic arousal in a dose-dependent manner.
The effects of sniffing different concentrations of the human sex-steroid derived compound 4,16-androstadien-3-one (AND) on autonomic nervous system function and mood were measured in 60 subjects. The effects were sex-specific and concentration-dependent. Only high concentrations of AND (0.00625 M) increased positive mood (p < 0.03) and decreased negative mood (p < 0.05) in women compared to men, and had sympathetic-like effects in women (p < 0.003), and parasympathetic-like effects in men (p < 0.05). These findings further implicate AND in chemical communication between humans, but pose questions as to the path by which AND is transduced, whether through chemical sensing or transdermal diffusion.
Bensafi
M
M
Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, 3210 Tolman Hall MC 1650, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. bensafi@uclink.berkeley.edu
Tsutsui
T
T
Khan
R
R
Levenson
R W
RW
Sobel
N
N
D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000730:Androstadienes / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000502:physiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology
D000730:Androstadienes; D012724:Sex Attractants; C003524:4,16-androstadien-3-one