subject: How Do Pheromones Really Work? [print this page] How Do Pheromones Really Work? How Do Pheromones Really Work?
Untold thousands of species of plants and animals communicate to members of their species with pheromones. This article talks about what they are and how they work, and to what extent they influence humans. The term was coined by scientists in 1959, combining the Greek word, pherein (meaning, to transport), and the word, hormones.
They are chemical messages that are produced by the member of a species that relays information to other members of the same species in the vicinity. They are very well documented in the lives of insects. The non-insect animals that produce these chemicals are all vertebrates; that is, they have back bones with spinal columns.
People usually think in terms of sex pheromones, but that is only one of the types. Other types include food trailing, and alarm varieties. Various plants are known to have the alarm kind. When a pests start to consume such a plant, it will trigger the alarm signal within the plant.
When neighboring plants (of the same species) perceive the signal, they produce tannin, which makes them less desirable to eat. Food trailing signals are common in insects. When these insects finish eating, they send out messages as they walk away. This leaves a trail that leads other insects of that species, directly to the food source.
When these pheromone signals are of the sexual variety, the messages convey information about the animal that sends them out. Other members of the species may become highly attracted to. Some male animals will be attracted to the pheromone signals of a female member of the species from miles away. They will travel miles to track down the sender of sex pheromone.
Scientists initially believed that contemporary humans did not produce pheromones. Even when evidence of pheromone production by humans was found, it was assumed that humans could not possibly still use them. However, there have been too many studies going back decades, which continue to indicate that the original scientific view is wrong. Today, scientists are in disagreement on this issue.
In fact is, it is difficult to find a study that does not present a lot of evidence showing that when people use a highly potent pheromone cologne or perfume, they get a lot more attention and are more attractive to others, than if they use fragrance products that contain no pheromones. These studies are done with double blind scientific protocol using placebos to rule out psychological effects.
