Researchers Claim Pheromones Trigger Brain Cell Growth

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is reporting that pheromones could enable the growth of new brain cells. "Pheromone signals from dominant males spark new brain cells in their female partners and could help repair injured brains, suggests a new study by a University of Calgary neuroscientist. Sam Weiss's findings, in the July issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience, provide evidence that pheromones -- subtle chemical signatures that influence mating behavior -- can control stem cells in the brain."

Comments

Human Alpha Males?

[Hiween]

The question is how did they choose the dominant males and the subordinate?. You can well go to a company and test with a Manager and young new employee, but I don't think that biologically there are any significant difference (at least not correlated with the dominant/subordinate biological trait). The article is pretty short on details of how the test was conducted.

Re:Human Alpha Males?

[Hal_Porter]

You can well go to a company and test with a Manager and young new employee, but I don't think that biologically there are any significant difference (at least not correlated with the dominant/subordinate biological trait).

Are you kidding? Very senior managers are exactly analogous to the silverback gorillas, the pack alpha males. Middle managers are more like their bitches to be honest than alpha males, though they'll bare their fangs at subordinates a bit if they can get away with it. Mind you as you go down the hierarchy it quickly becomes more meritocratic, mostly because it has to be if the troup is to survive. But watch some documentaries about primates and suddenly the management culture of companies, particularly small ones, will suddenly be sickeningly comprehensible.

Re:Oh really now?

[spikesahead]

Of course, new brain cells don't mean more intelligence.

New brain cells will accelerate learning and cement patterns in place. If people under the influence learn dumb patterns they will find it harder to break out of those patterns later.

This is probably one of the major reasons women in abusive relationships can't seem to break away from their abusers. The patterns of behavior become ingrained through this process.

Re:Sooo...

[bl8n8r]

>Why is it that people insist on thinking that same-sex couples are exactly analogous to opposite-sex couples?

A need for validation.