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Researchers Claim Pheromones Trigger Brain Cell Growth

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the crack-open-the-smelling-smarts dept.

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."

31 of 113 comments (clear)

  1. Kinky! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Pheromone signals from dominant males spark new brain cells in their female partners and could help repair injured brains
    Dominant males and their female partners? Hmmmmmmmm, yeah. BDSM is fun! ^_^
  2. Oh really now? by Icarus1919 · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's funny, I generally find that people become dumber when pheromones are involved.

    1. Re:Oh really now? by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 2, Funny

      New pickup line: "Come on baby, stay the night and I'll make you smarter."

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
    2. Re:Oh really now? by Harmonious+Botch · · Score: 2, Funny

      Ergo, you must not be a dominant male.

    3. Re:Oh really now? by spikesahead · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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.

      --
      bend like the reed
    4. Re:Oh really now? by fractoid · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Interesting... that may be a component, although I'd suspect it's more to do with variable-ratio reinforcement - it's the percentage chance of a reward (abusive guy is actually nice) that makes it 'addictive' and hard for abused partners (it's not always women, I know of at least two cases of guys in this situation, one of whom actually committed suicide) to break out. It's the same scenario seen in problem gamblers and WoWcrack-heads, although arguably much more serious than either.

      --
      Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
  3. That's why I by goombah99 · · Score: 4, Funny

    sniff bicycle seats. Honest. Brain growth

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
  4. Unfortunately, you're not going to find by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    many dominant males here.

    1. Re:Unfortunately, you're not going to find by AmberBlackCat · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Since this seems to be a biological thing rather than a socially engineered one, I'd wonder who is considered the more dominant male in this case. Is it the guy who is big and strong enough to physically force other guys to succumb to him, or is it the guy who is rich enough to make a phone call and have other guys eliminated? I ask this because our economic system seems to give all of the power to the guys with money, but to me the ones who stand on their own seem more attractive.

  5. Re:Pheromone signals from dominant males by Tablizer · · Score: 2, Funny

    so thats us all ruled out

    What about winners of the obfusicated Perl contests?....nevermind

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  6. Yet another loser nerd pickup line by eclectro · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yeah baby! Do you wanna smell my underarm??

    --
    Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
    1. Re:Yet another loser nerd pickup line by catwh0re · · Score: 3, Funny

      Your Honour, it's evolutionary proof that you're supposed to hit them on the head and drag em back to your cave. See the article; they're built for it!

    2. Re:Yet another loser nerd pickup line by poopdeville · · Score: 2, Interesting

      And if you must shower, clean and dry your balls really well. While you're getting dressed, rub on your balls and rub the oily sweat on your neck, face, chest, and wrists. Women love the smell of balls.

      No joke.

      --
      After all, I am strangely colored.
    3. Re:Yet another loser nerd pickup line by CarpetShark · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yeah baby! Do you wanna smell my underarm??


      There's an interesting social/cultural question here though: it's only a modern fashion that human scents are considered disgusting. In fact, research seems to suggest that, despite the fashion, the opposite is actually true.

      So: if natural scents are good for us, then rejecting things that are good for us is potentially an attitude problem or even mental illness. At the very least, it makes me wonder how society is changing as a result, if people are rejecting something that makes their brains develop differently. I might even wonder which came first: rejecting something and losing brain cells, or having less braincells, and therefore rejecting something?
  7. Sooo... by Khyber · · Score: 3, Funny

    what would be the effects in same-sex couples? Would be nice to know if this worked, then I could go to my submissive hubby and go "take a whiff, you'll get smarter!"

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    1. Re:Sooo... by st1d · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Maybe not, but (and I'm totally freakin' guessing here...), it might be possible for people to attune their senses to a particular gender. Most people would be attuned to pheromones from members of the opposite sex, but if someone had a strong desire for someone of the same sex, it would seem natural for them to hone their skills in selecting one with a stronger sexual "signature". This is, of course, as long as some sensors for both sets of pheromones exist exist in both sexes, which is likely, considering most other animals tend to figure out which is the alpha male/female" with only a small portion of top members challenging for that role. You only get one or two animals in a pack of dogs that challenge each other, others tend to fight over lesser roles, as if they just kind of know, pheromones being a possible explanation for this.

      The couple of same-sex folks I've known tend to ignore members of the opposite sex, like they've trained themselves to overlook what might be stronger pheromones from the opposite sex. But, like I said, I'm just guessing, but it makes sense, considering people are constantly retraining their brains after accidents and so on. Mix in a flush of sexual hormones, and I'm guessing the brain would be eager to adapt to the new paradigm.

      --
      Microsoft has just released their much anticipated hands-free cordless mouse. Warning, it may hurt a little at first.
    2. Re:Sooo... by bl8n8r · · Score: 3, Insightful

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

      A need for validation.

      --
      boycott slashdot February 10th - 17th check out: altSlashdot.org
    3. Re:Sooo... by Your.Master · · Score: 2, Insightful

      He didn't insist that. He did the exact opposite. He asked.

  8. Human Alpha Males? by Hiween · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.

    1. Re:Human Alpha Males? by catbutt · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well the test was done on mice. In mice dominant males are the ones that females are likely to mate with, so maybe they should say "matable males". For humans, it would probably translate "attractive males", or at least "males that the females in question find sexually attractive".

      I think people are reading too much into the word "dominant".

    2. Re:Human Alpha Males? by Hal_Porter · · Score: 3, Insightful

      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.

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
  9. So the truth is finally revealed... by SixDimensionalArray · · Score: 4, Funny

    Glad to lay this ages old argument to rest.. women are actually smarter than men.. but because men's pheromones make them that way?!?!

    I sense a disturbance in the force! It's as if a million feminists shouted out at once and were suddenly silenced, if not utterly confused!

    SixD

  10. Cell growth != smarter by The+Orange+Mage · · Score: 2, Funny

    "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. This goes against known logic, as battered women almost ALWAYS stay with the abusive man, regardless of all logic.
    1. Re:Cell growth != smarter by Joebert · · Score: 2, Funny

      That's because in those situations, the male is actually emitting Fearomones.

      --
      Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
  11. It all makes sense by ls671 · · Score: 3, Funny

    According to the bible, God created Adam and Eve was created from Adam's rib. Now, God had to find a way to put brain cells in Eve's head ;-)

    --
    Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
  12. So The Cure For Alzheimer's Is... by Petersko · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...regular attendance at WWE events!

    Who woulda thunk it?

  13. Guys: For the sake of women's brains . . . by StefanJ · · Score: 3, Funny

    . . . DON'T SHOWER!

  14. About pheromones by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 3, Interesting


    Here are the basic types
    N = Androstenone R = Androsterone L = Androstenol
    D = Androstadienone B = Beta-androstenol C = Copulins

    Androstenone is lust/alpha. I've been told by women this "smells like man".
    Androsterone is warm/father/trust type. Promotes conversation in both sexes.
    Copulins have been shown to raise testosterone levels in about 20 minutes in healthy males (something females would use normally).

    These work. In extremely tiny quantities. On about 40% of females in my experience and dramatically for about 15%. They are excellent for males with naturally low alpha pheromones including aging males (like me). If you overdose you will get into fights in bars, get headaches, and scare away females- you have been warned.

    The rest (and oxytocin (sp?)) I haven't had luck with. They will not overcome yellow dirty teeth, bad B/O, acting like a wimp, hideous fashion sense. They give an edge and multiply positive emotions. They do not fix or overcome massive negative emotions. So dress well, have good hygiene, be cocky/funny, and add these in and you will have better luck. For the ladies, adding copulins in makes males more aggressive (if you like that).

    They are not cheap. They are not expensive. $29 to $79 for about 6 months supply.

    I use love-scent but there are other sites. I was attracted to love-scent because it has a long deep history and they had a research bias in their forums.

    We are not dogs or insects. The brain matters. Both of you getting drunk will probably have a stronger effect than mones.

    --
    She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
  15. Dominate males don't abuse women... by PetoskeyGuy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.

    One thing to remember is that men who abuse women are almost always NOT dominate / alpha males. My wife worked as a social worker for many years and I've had first hand experience with abusive guys. They abuse women because that allows them to have at least one person beneath them and work out their aggression at being such inferior guys themselves. That's also why most abusers commit suicide after they break and kill their ex's. They're too scared to go to prison.

    Think back to Robert Heinlein - "Never frighten a little man. He'll kill you"
    1. Re:Dominate males don't abuse women... by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I agree. This matches my experience as well.

      Males who are not alpha males are more afraid. Anger is most often based on fear.

      However I think there are alpha males who are a problem because it is a bell curve-

      On one end you have the weaklings that need to abuse someone to feel strong and cover their feelings of inadequacy. I've known some who are constantly afraid when they open up. On the other end you have the guys who are almost insane with testosterone. They'll fight anyone and they have trouble with authority so today they have legal problems while in earlier ages they would have been more socially successful.

      In between you have guys that like to follow, guys who are kinda balanced, and guys that naturally lead and can fight but can control their aggression and thrill seeking.

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    2. Re:Dominate males don't abuse women... by Baldrson · · Score: 2, Interesting
      That's also why most abusers commit suicide after they break and kill their ex's. They're too scared to go to prison.

      Actuallly this is quite insightful except for one thing:

      She doesn't actually cop to the fact that the "alpha of state", for which she works, is a wimp who is so chickenshit that "he" has to resort to black and Hispanic prison gangs to meet out "his" worst punishments on spouse-abusing white guys, and that "he" can't actually mate with the women who look to "him" for protection.

      From Human Rights Watch's "No Escape: Male Rape in Prison":

      Past studies have documented the prevalence of black on white sexual aggression in prison.(213) These findings are further confirmed by Human Rights Watch's own research. Overall, our correspondence and interviews with white, black, and Hispanic inmates convince us that white inmates are disproportionately targeted for abuse. Although many whites reported being raped by white inmates, black on white abuse appears to be more common. To a much lesser extent, non-Hispanic whites also reported being victimized by Hispanic inmates.

      Other than sexual abuse of white inmates by African Americans, and, less frequently, Hispanics, interracial and interethnic sexual abuse appears to be much less common than sexual abuse committed by persons of one race or ethnicity against members of that same group. In other words, African Americans typically face sexual abuse at the hands of other African Americans, and Hispanics at the hands of other Hispanics. Some inmates told Human Rights Watch that this pattern reflected an inmate rule, one that was strictly enforced: "only a black can turn out [rape] a black, and only a chicano can turn out a chicano."(215) Breaking this rule by sexually abusing someone of another race or ethnicity, with the exception of a white inmate, could lead to racial or ethnic unrest, as other members of the victim's group would retaliate against the perpetrator's group. A Texas inmate explained, for example: "The Mexicans--indeed all latinos, nobody outside their race can 'check' one without permission from the town that, that person is from. If a black dude were to check a mexican w/out such permission & the mexican stays down & fights back, a riot will take place."(216)

      The causes of black on white sexual abuse in prison have been much analyzed. Some commentators have attributed it to the norms of a violent black subculture, the result of social conditioning that encourages aggressiveness and the use of force.(217) Others have viewed it as a form of revenge for white dominance of blacks in outside society.(218) Viewing rape as a hate crime rather than one primarily motivated by sexual urges, they believe that sexually abused white inmates are essentially convenient surrogates for whites generally. Elaborating on this theory, one commentator surmised that "[i]n raping a white inmate, the black aggressor may in some measure be assaulting the white guard on the catwalk."(219)

      Some inmates, both black and white, told Human Rights Watch that whites were generally perceived as weaker and thus more vulnerable to sexual abuse. An African American prisoner, describing the situation of incarcerated whites, said:

      • When individuals come to prison, they know that the first thing that they will have to do is fight. Now there are individuals that are from a certain race that the majority of them are not physically equip to fight. So they are the majority that are force to engage in sexual acts.(220)

      Another African American inmate, while generally agreeing with the idea of whites as easy victims, gave a more politically-oriented explanation for the problem of black on white sexual abuse:

      • Before I continue, let me explain that I consider myself to be speaking from mainly a black perspective. The reason I say that is not to be racist, but to emphasize that on the ma

      --
      Seastead this.