Chemosensory cues to conspecific emotional stress activate amygdala in humans

Human gender differences in the perception of conspecific alarm chemosensory cues

It has previously been established that, in threatening situations, animals use alarm pheromones to communicate danger. There is emerging evidence of analogous chemosensory "stress" cues in humans. For this study, we collected alarm and exercise sweat from "donors," extracted it, pooled it and presented it to 16 unrelated "detector" subjects undergoing fMRI. The fMRI protocol consisted of four stimulus runs, with each combination of stimulus condition and donor gender represented four times. Because olfactory stimuli do not follow the canonical hemodynamic response, we used a model-free approach. We performed minimal preprocessing and worked directly with block-average time series and step-function estimates. We found that, while male stress sweat produced a comparably strong emotional response in both detector genders, female stress sweat produced a markedly stronger arousal in female than in male detectors. Our statistical tests pinpointed this gender-specificity to the right amygdala (strongest in the superficial nuclei). When comparing the olfactory bulb responses to the corresponding stimuli, we found no significant differences between male and female detectors. These imaging results complement existing behavioral evidence, by identifying whether gender differences in response to alarm chemosignals are initiated at the perceptual versus emotional level. Since we found no significant differences in the olfactory bulb (primary processing site for chemosensory signals in mammals), we infer that the specificity in responding to female fear is likely based on processing meaning, rather than strength, of chemosensory cues from each gender.

An assay for human chemosignals

Like all mammals, humans use chemosignals. Nevertheless, only few such chemosignals have been identified. Here we describe an experimental arrangement that casts a wide net for the possible chemosignaling functions of target molecules. This experimental arrangement can be used in concert with various methods for measuring the human behavioral and brain responses, including psychophysiology and brain imaging. Moreover, many of the methodological issues we describe are relevant to any study with human chemosignals.

Sex discriminations made on the basis of ambiguous visual cues can be affected by the presence of an olfactory cue

BACKGROUND

Almost every interpersonal interaction is mediated by the sex of the individuals involved. Visual, auditory, and olfactory cues provide individuals with the opportunity to discriminate the sex of others from a distance and so prepare sex-appropriate behaviours for any impending interaction. The usefulness of that important social skill is mediated by the reliability of the sensory information. Sometimes cues in one domain will be ambiguous, and the perceptual processes mediating sex perceptions will need to integrate information from across the senses for better reliability. With that in mind, the experiment reported here was designed to explore the effect of olfactory-visual interactions on sex perceptions.

METHODS

Observers were presented visually with point-light walkers that were sexually ambiguous (not unequivocally female or male). They were asked to judge, using a two-alternative forced choice paradigm, the sex of each walker. Tested on two occasions, observers unknowingly made sex judgements in the presence or absence of pads soaked in male sweat.

RESULTS

The presence of male sweat was associated with higher proportions of 'male' judgements of both ambiguous female and ambiguous male walkers (F1,19 = 24.11, p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that olfactory cues can modulate visual sex discriminations made on the basis of biological motion cues. Importantly, they seem to do so even when the olfactory cue is not consciously perceived, suggesting these effects are mediated by perceptual rather than cognitive processes. These findings suggest that there exist cortical processes mediating sex perceptions that are capable of integrating visual and olfactory information. What is important is that this sensory integration takes place without conscious knowledge and that appropriate behaviour modifications may occur automatically.

Androstadienone in Motor Reactions of Men and Women toward Angry Faces

The endogenous compound androstadienone modulating the evaluation of others and activating the human fear system was hypothesized in terms of processing socially relevant cues by regulating responses to angry faces. Androstadienone was investigated in association with arm movements of 62 participants (30 women) in response to happy and angry facial expressions. Volunteers pushed away or pulled toward them a joystick as fast as possible on seeing either an angry or a happy cartoon face on a computer screen. This task was repeated twice: once during exposure to androstadienone masked with clove oil and once to clove oil only. In the former condition participants' reaction speed was accelerated, especially when reacting to angry faces. This observation may indicate an androstadienone-related activation of the fear system leading to faster responses to threat signals, assuming an enhanced allocation of attentional resources toward threat-related social cues.

Social influences on morphine sensitization in adolescent rats

Given that social influences are among the strongest predictors of adolescents' drug use, this study examines the effects of social interactions on morphine sensitization in both adolescent and adult rats. Rats treated with morphine (twice daily, 6 days, 2.5-10 mg/kg, subcutaneously, s.c.) or saline were group-housed in two different conditions. Thus, four experimental groups were examined for each age group: (1) morphine-treated rats housed physically and visually separate from saline-injected rats ('morphine only'); (2) morphine-treated rats housed together with saline-injected rats ('morphine cage-mates'); (3) saline-injected rats housed together with morphine-treated rats ('saline cage-mates'); and (4) saline-injected rats housed physically and visually separate from morphine-treated rats ('saline only'). Starting 9 days following the last morphine injection, rats were individually examined once daily for 5 consecutive days for their locomotor response to 2.5 mg/kg of morphine. For both age groups, there were no significant differences in morphine-induced hyper-locomotion between saline cage-mates and saline only rats. Morphine only rats exhibited morphine locomotor sensitization as compared to both the saline only and saline cage-mates rats. Notably, a significant difference was observed between the adolescent morphine cage-mates and morphine only rats. The adolescent morphine cage-mates did not exhibit the enhanced locomotor response as compared to the saline only and saline cage-mate rats. A trend of reduced morphine locomotor sensitization was observed in the adult morphine cage-mates as compared to morphine only but it did not reach statistical significance. Thus, this study demonstrates social influences on morphine sensitization which are more prevalent in adolescents as compared to adults.

Psychology of fragrance use: perception of individual odor and perfume blends reveals a mechanism for idiosyncratic effects on fragrance choice

Cross-culturally, fragrances are used to modulate body odor, but the psychology of fragrance choice has been largely overlooked. The prevalent view is that fragrances mask an individual's body odor and improve its pleasantness. In two experiments, we found positive effects of perfume on body odor perception. Importantly, however, this was modulated by significant interactions with individual odor donors. Fragrances thus appear to interact with body odor, creating an individually-specific odor mixture. In a third experiment, the odor mixture of an individual's body odor and their preferred perfume was perceived as more pleasant than a blend of the same body odor with a randomly-allocated perfume, even when there was no difference in pleasantness between the perfumes. This indicates that fragrance use extends beyond simple masking effects and that people choose perfumes that interact well with their own odor. Our results provide an explanation for the highly individual nature of perfume choice.

Differential processing of social chemosignals obtained from potential partners in regards to gender and sexual orientation

On an individual level, human body odors carry information about whether a person is an eligible mate. The current studies investigate if body odors also transmit information about individuals being potential partners in more general terms, namely in regards to gender and sexual orientation. In study 1, 14 gay and 14 heterosexual men were presented with body odors obtained from potential partners (gay male and heterosexual female body odors, respectively) and heterosexual male body odor as a control. In study 2, 14 lesbian and 14 heterosexual women were presented with lesbian female and heterosexual male body odors representing body odors of potential partners, and heterosexual female body odor as a control. Central nervous processing was analyzed using chemosensory event-related potentials and current source density analysis (64-channel EEG recording). Gay and heterosexual men responded with shorter P2 latencies to the body odors of their preferred sexual partners, and lesbian women responded with shorter P2 latencies to body odors of their preferred gender. In response to heterosexual male body odors, lesbian women displayed the most pronounced P3 amplitude, and distinct neuronal activation in medial frontal and parietal neocortical areas. A similar pattern of neuronal activation was observed in gay men when presented with heterosexual male body odor. Both the early processing advantage (P2) for desirable partners' body odors as well as the enhanced evaluative processing (P3, CSD) of undesirable partners' body odors suggest that human body odors indeed carry information about individuals being potential partners in terms of gender and sexual orientation.

Processing of Body Odor Signals by the Human Brain

Brain development in mammals has been proposed to be promoted by successful adaptations to the social complexity as well as to the social and non-social chemical environment. Therefore, the communication via chemosensory signals might have been and might still be a phylogenetically ancient communication channel transmitting evolutionary significant information. In humans, the neuronal underpinnings of the processing of social chemosignals have been investigated in relation to kin recognition, mate choice, the reproductive state and emotional contagion. These studies reveal that human chemosignals are probably not processed within olfactory brain areas but through neuronal relays responsible for the processing of social information. It is concluded that the processing of human social chemosignals resembles the processing of social signals originating from other modalities, except that human social chemosignals are usually communicated without the allocation of attentional resources, that is below the threshold of consciousness. Deviances in the processing of human social chemosignals might be related to the development and maintenance of mental disorders.

Acute stress eliminates female advantage in detection of ambiguous negative affect

The human stress response evolved to maximize an individual's probability of survival when threatened. The present study addressed whether physical danger modulates perception of an unrelated ambiguous threat and, if so, to what extent this response is sex- specific. The authors utilized a first-time tandem skydive as a stressor, which had been previously validated as producing a highly-controlled, genuinely stressful environment. In a counter-balanced within-subjects design, participants wore a virtual reality helmet to complete an emotion-identification task during the plane's ascent (stress condition) and in the laboratory (control condition). Participants were presented static male faces morphed between 20-80% aggression, which gradually emerged from degraded images. Using a binary forced-choice design, participants identified each ambiguous face as aggressive or neutral. Results showed that participants characterized emotion more rapidly under stress versus control conditions. Unexpectedly, the results also show that while women were more sensitive to affect ambiguity than men under control conditions, they exhibited a marked decrease in sensitivity equivalent to men while under stress.

Acute Stress Eliminates Female Advantage in Detection of Ambiguous Negative Affect

The human stress response evolved to maximize an individual's probability of survival when threatened. The present study addressed whether physical danger modulates perception of an unrelated ambiguous threat and, if so, to what extent this response is sex-specific. The authors utilized a first-time tandem skydive as a stressor, which had been previously validated as producing a highly-controlled, genuinely stressful environment. In a counter-balanced within-subjects design, participants wore a virtual reality helmet to complete an emotion-identification task during the plane's ascent (stress condition) and in the laboratory (control condition). Participants were presented static male faces morphed between 20–80% aggression, which gradually emerged from degraded images. Using a binary forced-choice design, participants identified each ambiguous face as aggressive or neutral. Results showed that participants characterized emotion more rapidly under stress versus control conditions. Unexpectedly, the results also show that while women were more sensitive to affect ambiguity than men under control conditions, they exhibited a marked decrease in sensitivity equivalent to men while under stress.

Brain transcriptomic response of threespine sticklebacks to cues of a predator

Predation pressure represents a strong selective force that influences the development and evolution of living organisms. An increasing number of studies have shown that both environmental and social factors, including exposure to predators, substantially shape the structure and function of the brain. However, our knowledge about the molecular mechanisms underlying the response of the brain to environmental stimuli is limited. In this study, we used whole-genome comparative oligonucleotide microarrays to investigate the brain transcriptomic response to cues of a predator in the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus. We found that repeated exposure to olfactory, visual and tactile cues of a predator (rainbow trout, Oncorrhynchus mykiss) for 6 days resulted in subtle but significant transcriptomic changes in the brain of sticklebacks. Gene functional analysis and gene ontology enrichment revealed that the majority of the transcripts differentially expressed between the fish exposed to cues of a predator and the control group were related to antigen processing and presentation involving the major histocompatibility complex, transmission of synaptic signals, brain metabolic processes, gene regulation and visual perception. The top four identified pathways were synaptic long-term depression, RAN signaling, relaxin signaling and phototransduction. Our study demonstrates that exposure of sticklebacks to cues of a predator results in the activation of a wide range of biological and molecular processes and lays the foundation for future investigations on the molecular factors that modulate the function and evolution of the brain in response to stressors.

Social influences on plasma testosterone levels in morphine withdrawn adolescent mice and their drug-naïve cage-mates

Opioid administration in males results in opioid-induced androgen deficiency which persists throughout the treatment. In adults, this quickly reverses once opioid administration is suspended. However, less is known about the duration of the effect following drug discontinuation in adolescents. Given the significant implications to sexual maturation in adolescent males, this study examined plasma testosterone levels in both morphine withdrawn mice and their drug-naïve (saline-injected) cage-mates as compared to drug-naïve mice housed physically and visually separate from the morphine-treated mice ('saline only'). Consistent with the literature, plasma testosterone levels in morphine withdrawn adults were reduced on withdrawal day 1 (WD1) and returned to baseline levels by WD9. No significant effects were observed in their saline cage-mates. In the adolescents, no significant differences were observed on WD1 between the morphine withdrawn mice, their saline cage-mates, and the saline only mice - all of which had significantly lower plasma testosterone levels than adults. By WD9, testosterone levels in the saline only adolescent mice had reached adult levels. Notably, plasma testosterone levels were reduced in both the morphine withdrawn adolescent mice and their saline cage-mates, as compared to saline only mice. The effect was not a drug effect per se, given that reduced plasma testosterone levels were not observed in individually housed morphine withdrawn mice. Moreover, our results also suggest that these social effects are not solely explained by stress. These results have numerous implications to the short term and long term health of both adolescents requiring pain management and of adolescent drug addicts.

Effective prevention of stress-induced sweating and axillary malodour formation in teenagers

Emotional sweating and malodour production represent a relevant challenge to today's antiperspirant (AP) and deodorant products as stress in everyday life increases continuously. The aim of this study was to investigate stress-induced sweating in teenagers who are known to experience various stressful situations, e.g. exams at school or job interviews. To induce emotional sweating in 20 female and 20 male adolescents (16-18 years of age), we applied the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), considered today to be the most reliable and standardized stress protocol. In this study, we demonstrate that the TSST induces high amounts of sweat and strong axillary malodour in the tested age group. Notably, male teenagers showed significantly higher stress-induced odour scores than female subjects, although no gender differences were detected concerning other physiological stress markers. Testing of a novel deodorant/AP product developed to specifically address the needs of adolescent consumers revealed excellent deodorant and AP efficacy under the challenging conditions of the TSST.

The amygdala: inside and out

Research at the interface of psychology, neuroscience, molecular biology, and genetics, focusing on the amygdala, has begun to reveal a rule book for emotional reactions. Variations in intrinsic and extrinsic factors tweak the sensitivity of the amygdala, giving rise to differences in behavior between individuals. At their most extreme, these variations may generate psychological disorders, and even our current rudimentary understanding of this brain region suggests novel strategies for the treatment of such disorders.

Second-hand stress: inhalation of stress sweat enhances neural response to neutral faces

This study investigated whether human chemosensory-stress cues affect neural activity related to the evaluation of emotional stimuli. Chemosensory stimuli were obtained from the sweat of 64 male donors during both stress (first-time skydive) and control (exercise) conditions, indistinguishable by odor. We then recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) from an unrelated group of 14 participants while they viewed faces morphed with neutral-to-angry expressions and inhaled nebulized stress and exercise sweat in counter-balanced blocks, blind to condition. Results for the control condition ERPs were consistent with previous findings: the late positive potential (LPP; 400-600 ms post stimulus) in response to faces was larger for threatening than both neutral and ambiguous faces. In contrast, the stress condition was associated with a heightened LPP across all facial expressions; relative to control, the LPP was increased for both ambiguous and neutral faces in the stress condition. These results suggest that stress sweat may impact electrocortical activity associated with attention to salient environmental cues, potentially increasing attentiveness to otherwise inconspicuous stimuli.

Effects of Male Anxiety Chemosignals on the Evaluation of Happy Facial Expressions

The communication of chemosensory alarm signals is well explored in mammals. In humans the effects of anxiety substances might seem to be less important due to their high-developed visual system, and their sophisticated ability to communicate via speech and body language. Nevertheless, an increasing number of studies suggest an effect of chemosignals of anxiety on human physiology and behavior. In the present study two kinds of human sweat were collected from 21 males during a bicycle workout and a visit of a high rope course, and were then applied to 15 different healthy male participants during an emotion evaluation task. Participants were instructed to rate emotional male faces of different morphing levels (neutral-happy) by using a visual analog scale under exposure of three different samples (exercise sweat, anxiety sweat, and control material). Our study revealed that men rated happy faces as less happy under the influence of anxiety sweat compared to the exercise and the control conditions; significant differences were demonstrated only for ambiguous emotional faces. In conclusion, chemosignals of anxiety comprised in human sweat are communicated between males; they diminish the evaluation of ambiguous happy male facial expressions in men and thereby influence the perception of emotional faces.

Reduced recruitment of orbitofrontal cortex to human social chemosensory cues in social anxiety

Social anxiety refers to the prevalent and debilitating experience of fear and anxiety of being scrutinized in social situations. It originates from both learned (e.g. adverse social conditioning) and innate (e.g. shyness) factors. Research on social anxiety has traditionally focused on negative emotions induced by visual and auditory social cues in socially anxious clinical populations, and posits a dysfunctional orbitofrontal-amygdala circuit as a primary etiological mechanism. Yet as a trait, social anxiety is independent of one's specific emotional state. Here we probe the neural substrate of intrinsic social anxiety by employing a unique type of social stimuli, airborne human social chemosensory cues that are inherently social, ubiquitously present, and yet operating below verbal awareness. We show that the adopted social chemosensory cues were not perceived to be human-related, did not differentially bias self-report of anxiety or autonomic nervous system responses, yet individuals with elevated social anxiety demonstrated a reduced recruitment of the orbitofrontal cortex to social chemosensory cues. No reciprocal activity in the amygdala was observed. Our findings point to an intrinsic neural substrate underlying social anxiety that is not associated with prior adverse social conditioning, thereby providing the first neural evidence for the inherent social aspect of this enigmatic phenomenon.

Ambulatory and challenge-associated heart rate variability measures predict cardiac responses to real-world acute emotional stress

BACKGROUND

Heart rate variability (HRV) measures homeostatic regulation of the autonomic nervous system in response to perturbation and has been previously shown to quantify risk for cardiac events. Despite known interactions among stress vulnerability, psychiatric illness, and cardiac health, however, this is the first study to our knowledge to compare directly the value of laboratory HRV in predicting autonomic modulation of real-world emotional stress.

METHODS

We recorded electrocardiograms (ECG) on 56 subjects: first, within the laboratory and then during an acute emotional stressor: a first-time skydive. Laboratory sessions included two 5-min ECG recordings separated by one ambulatory 24-hour recording. To test the efficacy of introducing a mild emotional challenge, during each of the 5-min laboratory recordings, subjects viewed either aversive or benign images. Following the laboratory session, subjects participated in the acute stressor wearing a Holter ECG. Artifact-free ECGs (n = 33) were analyzed for HRV then statistically compared across laboratory and acute stress sessions.

RESULTS

There were robust correlations (r = .7-.8) between the laboratory and acute stress HRV, indicating that the two most useful paradigms (long-term wake, followed by short-term challenge) were also most sensitive to distinct components of the acute stressor: the former correlated with the fine-tuned regulatory modulation occurring immediately prior and following the acute stressor, whereas the latter correlated with gross amplitude and recovery.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results confirmed the efficacy of laboratory-acquired HRV in predicting autonomic response to acute emotional stress and suggest that ambulatory and challenge protocols enhance predictive value.

Intensified neuronal investment in the processing of chemosensory anxiety signals in non-socially anxious and socially anxious individuals

Background

The ability to communicate anxiety through chemosensory signals has been documented in humans by behavioral, perceptual and brain imaging studies. Here, we investigate in a time-sensitive manner how chemosensory anxiety signals, donated by humans awaiting an academic examination, are processed by the human brain, by analyzing chemosensory event-related potentials (CSERPs, 64-channel recording with current source density analysis).

Methodology/Principal Findings

In the first study cerebral stimulus processing was recorded from 28 non-socially anxious participants and in the second study from 16 socially anxious individuals. Each individual participated in two sessions, smelling sweat samples donated from either female or male donors (88 sessions; balanced session order). Most of the participants of both studies were unable to detect the stimuli olfactorily. In non-socially anxious females, CSERPs demonstrate an increased magnitude of the P3 component in response to chemosensory anxiety signals. The source of this P3 activity was allocated to medial frontal brain areas. In socially anxious females chemosensory anxiety signals require more neuronal resources during early pre-attentive stimulus processing (N1). The neocortical sources of this activity were located within medial and lateral frontal brain areas. In general, the event-related neuronal brain activity in males was much weaker than in females. However, socially anxious males processed chemosensory anxiety signals earlier (N1 latency) than the control stimuli collected during an ergometer training.

Conclusions/Significance

It is concluded that the processing of chemosensory anxiety signals requires enhanced neuronal energy. Socially anxious individuals show an early processing bias towards social fear signals, resulting in a repression of late attentional stimulus processing.

Functional neuronal processing of human body odors

Body odors carry informational cues of great importance for individuals across a wide range of species, and signals hidden within the body odor cocktail are known to regulate several key behaviors in animals. For a long time, the notion that humans may be among these species has been dismissed. We now know, however, that each human has a unique odor signature that carries information related to his or her genetic makeup, as well as information about personal environmental variables, such as diet and hygiene. Although a substantial number of studies have investigated the behavioral effects of body odors, only a handful have studied central processing. Recent studies have, however, demonstrated that the human brain responds to fear signals hidden within the body odor cocktail, is able to extract kin specific signals, and processes body odors differently than other perceptually similar odors. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the current knowledge of how the human brain processes body odors and the potential importance these signals have for us in everyday life.

A functional ABCC11 allele is essential in the biochemical formation of human axillary odor

The characteristic human axillary odor is formed by bacterial action on odor precursors that originate from apocrine sweat glands. Caucasians and Africans possess a strong axillary odor ,whereas many Asians have only a faint acidic odor. In this study, we provide evidence that the gene ABCC11 (MRP8), which encodes an apical efflux pump, is crucial for the formation of the characteristic axillary odor and that a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) 538G --> A, which is prominent among Asian people, leads to a nearly complete loss of the typical odor components in axillary sweat. The secretion of amino-acid conjugates of human-specific odorants is abolished in homozygotic carriers of the SNP, and steroidal odorants and their putative precursors are significantly reduced. Moreover, we show that ABCC11 is expressed and localized in apocrine sweat glands. These data point to a key function of ABCC11 in the secretion of odorants and their precursors from apocrine sweat glands. SNP 538G --> A, which also determines human earwax type, is present on an extended haplotype, which has reached >95% frequency in certain populations in recent human evolution. A strong positive selection in mate choice for low-odorant partners with a dysfunctional ABCC11 gene seems a plausible explanation for this striking frequency of a loss-of-function allele.