Pheromones in birds, other mammals, and us

PherX™ currently sponsors misinformation about pheromones available here:

pheromone Any chemical compound secreted by an organism in minute amounts to elicit a particular reaction from other organisms of the same species. Pheromones are widespread among insects and vertebrates (except birds) and are present in some fungi, slime molds, and algae.”

Caro and Balthazart (2010) state conclusively that “…if we stay with the original definition of pheromones proposed by Karlson and Luscher (see ‘‘Introduction’’), it now seems highly probable, if not established, that such pheromones do exist in birds…. Avian pheromones are probably not a myth; they just need to be investigated.”

For contrast, see Doty RL (2009). He strays far from the original definition and states that “A key element of my thesis is that it is erroneous to infer that a plurality of mammalian behaviors and endocrine responses is uniquely determined in an invariant way by single or small sets of chemical stimuli and to apply a generic and misleading name to the presumptive agents in support of such an inference.”(p. 3)

In the approaches above, a marketer of human pheromone products is unaware of research on avian pheromones, and an olfactory researcher tells us that no human pheromones exist. For information on human pheromones you can trust, keep coming back to Pheromones.com

References:

Caro SP, Balthazart J (2010) Pheromones in birds: myth or reality? J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 196(10): 751-766.

Doty RL (2009) The Great Pheromone Myth: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

About James V. Kohl 1308 Articles
James Vaughn Kohl was the first to accurately conceptualize human pheromones, and began presenting his findings to the scientific community in 1992. He continues to present to, and publish for, diverse scientific and lay audiences, while constantly monitoring the scientific presses for new information that is relevant to the development of his initial and ongoing conceptualization of human pheromones. Recently, Kohl integrated scientific evidence that pinpoints the evolved neurophysiological mechanism that links olfactory/pheromonal input to genes in hormone-secreting cells of tissue in a specific area of the brain that is primarily involved in the sensory integration of olfactory and visual input, and in the development of human sexual preferences. His award-winning 2007 article/book chapter on multisensory integration: The Mind’s Eyes: Human pheromones, neuroscience, and male sexual preferences followed an award winning 2001 publication: Human pheromones: integrating neuroendocrinology and ethology, which was coauthored by disinguished researchers from Vienna. Rarely do researchers win awards in multiple disciplines, but Kohl’s 2001 award was for neuroscience, and his 2007 “Reiss Theory” award was for social science. Kohl has worked as a medical laboratory scientist since 1974, and he has devoted more than twenty-five years to researching the relationship between the sense of smell and the development of human sexual preferences. Unlike many researchers who work with non-human subjects, medical laboratory scientists use the latest technology from many scientific disciplines to perform a variety of specialized diagnostic medical testing on people. James V. Kohl is certified with: * American Society for Clinical Pathology * American Medical Technologists James V. Kohl is a member of: * Society for Neuroscience * Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology * Association for Chemoreception Sciences * Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality * International Society for Human Ethology * American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science * Mensa, the international high IQ society