Poster No:
785
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Elena Losse1, Maya Armin1, Susanne Nehls1, Thilo Kellermann1, Ute Habel1, Natalia Chechko1
Institutions:
1RWTH University Hospital Aachen, Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia
First Author:
Elena Losse
RWTH University Hospital Aachen
Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia
Co-Author(s):
Maya Armin
RWTH University Hospital Aachen
Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia
Susanne Nehls
RWTH University Hospital Aachen
Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia
Ute Habel
RWTH University Hospital Aachen
Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia
Natalia Chechko
RWTH University Hospital Aachen
Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia
Introduction:
In the animal kingdom, females signal their fertility via body odor changes depending on their reproductive and hormonal state. Growing evidence suggests similar mechanisms in humans. For women, olfactory signals contribute to intrasexual competition, enabling them to discriminate between other women's reproductive states via the scent. This evaluation appears to be additionally guided by the reproductive status of the evaluating woman. The aim of this study is to investigate whether and to what extent pheromones modulate human social communication and particularly, how women's menstrual cycle stages interact with this effect.
Methods:
Axillary odor samples were collected from 12 women during ovulation and menstruation (mean age= 23.67 SD = 3.92) and 12 women in the first trimester of pregnancy (mean age = 28.33 SD = 3.28). 16 healthy, heterosexual, and single female participants (mean age = 22.69 SD = 2.73) participated in a functional MRI experiment twice, once while menstruating and once while ovulating. They were presented with female faces in combination with the body odors obtained during menstruation (ME), ovulation (OV) and pregnancy (PRG) as well as in combination with odorless air (no-odor condition; NO). Using a whole-brain analyses, differences in neural activity patterns were examined between the 4 odor conditions and across the two different menstrual cycle stages of the fMRI participants (cluster-forming threshold at voxel-level p <.001 uncorrected).
Results:
The results revealed distinct activation patterns depending on the body odors as well as the participants' menstrual cycle stages. In ovulating participants, OV > NO and NO > PRG led to increased activation in the bilateral postcentral gyrus, superior parietal gyrus, precuneus, and the right paracentral lobule. In menstruating participants, ME led to increased activation in the right fusiform gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus and cerebellum (crus 4 and 5) when compared to NO, and in the bilateral anterior cingulum, right superior medial frontal gyrus and medial orbitofrontal gyrus when compared to PRG. Comparing activation differences between the two cycle stages of the participants revealed increased activity for ovulating compared to menstruating women for OV > ME in the right temporal lobe and right fusiform gyrus; when contrasting PRG > ME in the bilateral medial orbitofrontal gyrus, bilateral anterior cingulate cortex and bilateral superior medial frontal gyrus; and both, ME + OV > PRG, in the left inferior parietal lobule, supramarginal gyrus and postcentral gyrus.
Conclusions:
A particular stage in a woman's menstrual cycle appears to be accompanied by a heightened sensitivity toward body odors of the same cycle stage, influencing the processing of other sensory input, e.g. faces. Ovulating women show increased sensory processing and integration, and a heightened attention toward the presented visual stimuli when exposed to other ovulating women's scent. This indicates that fertile women might detect potential sexual competitors via their odor which, from an evolutionary perspective, could benefit them in the intrasexual competition by allowing a closer assessment of a rival. Menstruating women contrarily, when presented with the body odor of likewise menstruating women, displayed higher sensitivity toward emotional facial cues and more complex emotional processing such as empathy. As this fertility phase presents no necessity for intrasexual competition, no evolutionary advantage would stem from increased critical evaluation of the counterpart. Rather, evoked feelings of empathy and sensitivity toward the facial signalling of affective states might even foster social cooperation. In general, ovulating women exhibited higher sensitivity via stronger activation patterns than menstruating women in response to the body odors of other women. In line with the aforementioned, this underlines the heightened relevance of detecting other women's cycle stage via the body odor for fertile women.
Emotion, Motivation and Social Neuroscience:
Sexual Behavior 1
Perception, Attention and Motor Behavior:
Attention: Visual
Chemical Senses: Olfaction, Taste 2
Keywords:
Experimental Design
FUNCTIONAL MRI
Other - chemosensory signalling, intrasexual competition, menstrualcycle
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
Provide references using author date format
Derntl, B. & Hack, R. & Kryspin-Exner, I. & Habel, U. (2012). Association of menstrual cycle phase with the core component of empathy. Hormones and behavior. 63. 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.10.009.
Fisher, M. L. (2004). Female intrasexual competition decreases female facial attractiveness. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences. Royal Society. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2004.0160
Hahn, A. C., Fisher, C. I., Cobey, K. D., DeBruine, L. M., & Jones, B. C. (2016). A longitudinal analysis of women’s salivary testosterone and intrasexual competitiveness. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 64, 117-122.
Kuukasjarvi S., Eriksson C.J.P., Koskela E., Mappes T., Nissinen K., Rantala M.J. (2004). Attractiveness of women's body odors over the menstrual cycle: the role of oral contraceptives and receiver sex. Behavioral Ecology, 15(4), 579–584. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arh050
Paciello M., Fida R., Cerniglia L., Tramontano C., Cole E. (2013). High cost helping scenario: The role of empathy, prosocial reasoning and moral disengagement on helping behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 55(1), 3–7.