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Chemical Senses Advance Access first published online on November 9, 2005
This version published online on December 20, 2005
Chemical Senses, doi:10.1093/chemse/bji073
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Accepted October 14, 2005

Article

Changes in the Odor Quality of Androstadienone During Exposure-Induced Sensitization

Tim J.C. Jacob 1 *, Liwei Wang 1, Sajjida Jaffer 1, and Sara McPhee 1

1 School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3US, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Tim J.C. Jacob, E-mail: jacob{at}cardiff.ac.uk


  Abstract

Androstadienone is a steroid found in human sweat and other secretions. It has been widely proposed as a candidate for a human pheromone. As an odorant it possesses some unique properties. Here we demonstrate that, firstly, there is a very wide range of thresholds in the human population, and they are not normally distributed. Secondly, repetitive exposure causes a decrease in detection threshold of more than four orders of magnitude, and thirdly, accompanying this sensitization process is a change in the perceived odor quality. Those with low to intermediate sensitivities ascribe to it a wide range of odor descriptors across the hedonic scale, but as these individuals become sensitized, their description changes to predominantly putrid. We propose that this change in odor quality reflects the presence of at least two receptor populations for androstadienone; a low-affinity receptor conveying pleasant odor qualities and a high-affinity receptor mediating unpleasant odor qualities. We further propose that repetitive exposure results in the increased expression of the high-affinity receptor thereby shifting the balance of perception to the negative end of the hedonic scale.

Keywords: odor; olfaction; olfactory; pheromone; smell.
Figures 2 and 4 are now in color.
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J. N. Lundstrom, S. Seven, M. J. Olsson, B. Schaal, and T. Hummel
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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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