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Lübke KT, Storch D, Pause BM. Sexual Orientation Affects Neural Responses to Subtle Social Aggression Signals. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2024; 53:153-175. [PMID: 37501010 PMCID: PMC10794475 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-023-02661-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
The current series of studies are the first to examine brain responses to social aggression signals as a function of male and female sexual orientation. For the first set of studies (1a, 1b), axillary sweat had been collected from 17 heterosexual men and 17 heterosexual women aggressively responding to frustrating opponents (aggression condition) and while playing a construction game (control condition). Sweat samples were pooled according to sex and condition, and presented via a constant flow olfactometer to 17 gay and 23 heterosexual men (Study 1a), and 19 lesbian and 25 heterosexual women (Study 1b). Ongoing EEG was recorded from 61 scalp locations, chemosensory event-related potentials (CSERPs; P2, P3-1, P3-2) were analyzed, and neuronal sources calculated (low resolution electromagnetic tomography). Within the second set of studies (2a, 2b), pictures of males' and females' weak angry and neutral facial expressions were presented to 21 gay and 23 heterosexual men (Study 2a), and 19 lesbian and 26 heterosexual women (Study 2b), and ERPs (N170, P3) were analyzed. Gay men showed larger P3-1 amplitudes than heterosexual men upon presentation of male aggression sweat, accompanied by activation of the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, BA 10). Gay men also displayed longer N170 latencies in response to men's compared to women's angry facial expressions, while heterosexual men did not. In women, sexual orientation did not affect the processing of aggression sweat or anger expressions. Gay men showed preferential processing of chemosensory aggression signals (P3-1 amplitudes), indicating fine-tuned socioemotional sensitivity, related to activation of brain areas involved in emotion regulation (IFG). They further process the relative relevance of visual aggression signals (N170 latency). These results were in line with theories proposing a common evolutionary pathway for same-sex attraction and traits easing social integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrin T Lübke
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
| | - Dunja Storch
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Bettina M Pause
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
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2
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Loos HM, Schaal B, Pause BM, Smeets MAM, Ferdenzi C, Roberts SC, de Groot J, Lübke KT, Croy I, Freiherr J, Bensafi M, Hummel T, Havlíček J. Past, Present, and Future of Human Chemical Communication Research. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2023:17456916231188147. [PMID: 37669015 DOI: 10.1177/17456916231188147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
Although chemical signaling is an essential mode of communication in most vertebrates, it has long been viewed as having negligible effects in humans. However, a growing body of evidence shows that the sense of smell affects human behavior in social contexts ranging from affiliation and parenting to disease avoidance and social threat. This article aims to (a) introduce research on human chemical communication in the historical context of the behavioral sciences; (b) provide a balanced overview of recent advances that describe individual differences in the emission of semiochemicals and the neural mechanisms underpinning their perception, that together demonstrate communicative function; and (c) propose directions for future research toward unraveling the molecular principles involved and understanding the variability in the generation, transmission, and reception of chemical signals in increasingly ecologically valid conditions. Achieving these goals will enable us to address some important societal challenges but are within reach only with the aid of genuinely interdisciplinary approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helene M Loos
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
- Department of Sensory Analytics and Technologies, Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV
| | - Benoist Schaal
- Development of Olfactory Cognition and Communication Lab, Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, CNRS UMR 6265, Université de Bourgogne
| | - Bettina M Pause
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
| | | | - Camille Ferdenzi
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, CNRS UMR 5292, Inserm U1028, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier
| | | | | | - Katrin T Lübke
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
| | - Ilona Croy
- Institute for Psychology, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
| | - Jessica Freiherr
- Department of Sensory Analytics and Technologies, Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
| | - Moustafa Bensafi
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, CNRS UMR 5292, Inserm U1028, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier
| | - Thomas Hummel
- Smell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden
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3
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How priming with body odors affects decision speeds in consumer behavior. Sci Rep 2023; 13:609. [PMID: 36635353 PMCID: PMC9834684 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-27643-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
To date, odor research has primarily focused on the behavioral effects of common odors on consumer perception and choices. We report a study that examines, for the first time, the effects of human body odor cues on consumer purchase behaviors. The influence of human chemosignals produced in three conditions, namely happiness, fear, a relaxed condition (rest), and a control condition (no odor), were examined on willingness to pay (WTP) judgments across various products. We focused on the speed with which participants reached such decisions. The central finding revealed that participants exposed to human odors reached decisions significantly faster than the no odor control group. The main driving force is that human body odors activate the presence of others during decision-making. This, in turn, affects response speed. The broader implications of this finding for consumer behavior are discussed.
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Rekow D, Baudouin JY, Durand K, Leleu A. Smell what you hardly see: Odors assist visual categorization in the human brain. Neuroimage 2022; 255:119181. [PMID: 35413443 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Visual categorization is the brain ability to rapidly and automatically respond to a certain category of inputs. Whether category-selective neural responses are purely visual or can be influenced by other sensory modalities remains unclear. Here, we test whether odors modulate visual categorization, expecting that odors facilitate the neural categorization of congruent visual objects, especially when the visual category is ambiguous. Scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded while natural images depicting various objects were displayed in rapid 12-Hz streams (i.e., 12 images / second) and variable exemplars of a target category (either human faces, cars, or facelike objects in dedicated sequences) were interleaved every 9th stimulus to tag category-selective responses at 12/9 = 1.33 Hz in the EEG frequency spectrum. During visual stimulation, participants (N = 26) were implicitly exposed to odor contexts (either body, gasoline or baseline odors) and performed an orthogonal cross-detection task. We identify clear category-selective responses to every category over the occipito-temporal cortex, with the largest response for human faces and the lowest for facelike objects. Critically, body odor boosts the response to the ambiguous facelike objects (i.e., either perceived as nonface objects or faces) over the right hemisphere, especially for participants reporting their presence post-stimulation. By contrast, odors do not significantly modulate other category-selective responses, nor the general visual response recorded at 12 Hz, revealing a specific influence on the categorization of congruent ambiguous stimuli. Overall, these findings support the view that the brain actively uses cues from the different senses to readily categorize visual inputs, and that olfaction, which has long been considered as poorly functional in humans, is well placed to disambiguate visual information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diane Rekow
- Development of Olfactory Communication & Cognition Lab, Center for Taste, Smell & Feeding Behavior, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, CNRS, Inrae, Institut Agro Dijon, 21000, Dijon, France.
| | - Jean-Yves Baudouin
- Laboratoire Développement, Individu, Processus, Handicap, Éducation (DIPHE), Département Psychologie du Développement, de l'Éducation et des Vulnérabilités (PsyDÉV), Institut de psychologie, Université de Lyon (Lumière Lyon 2), 5, avenue Pierre-Mendès-France, 69676, Bron, France
| | - Karine Durand
- Development of Olfactory Communication & Cognition Lab, Center for Taste, Smell & Feeding Behavior, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, CNRS, Inrae, Institut Agro Dijon, 21000, Dijon, France
| | - Arnaud Leleu
- Development of Olfactory Communication & Cognition Lab, Center for Taste, Smell & Feeding Behavior, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, CNRS, Inrae, Institut Agro Dijon, 21000, Dijon, France.
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Damon F, Mezrai N, Magnier L, Leleu A, Durand K, Schaal B. Olfaction in the Multisensory Processing of Faces: A Narrative Review of the Influence of Human Body Odors. Front Psychol 2021; 12:750944. [PMID: 34675855 PMCID: PMC8523678 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.750944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
A recent body of research has emerged regarding the interactions between olfaction and other sensory channels to process social information. The current review examines the influence of body odors on face perception, a core component of human social cognition. First, we review studies reporting how body odors interact with the perception of invariant facial information (i.e., identity, sex, attractiveness, trustworthiness, and dominance). Although we mainly focus on the influence of body odors based on axillary odor, we also review findings about specific steroids present in axillary sweat (i.e., androstenone, androstenol, androstadienone, and estratetraenol). We next survey the literature showing body odor influences on the perception of transient face properties, notably in discussing the role of body odors in facilitating or hindering the perception of emotional facial expression, in relation to competing frameworks of emotions. Finally, we discuss the developmental origins of these olfaction-to-vision influences, as an emerging literature indicates that odor cues strongly influence face perception in infants. Body odors with a high social relevance such as the odor emanating from the mother have a widespread influence on various aspects of face perception in infancy, including categorization of faces among other objects, face scanning behavior, or facial expression perception. We conclude by suggesting that the weight of olfaction might be especially strong in infancy, shaping social perception, especially in slow-maturing senses such as vision, and that this early tutoring function of olfaction spans all developmental stages to disambiguate a complex social environment by conveying key information for social interactions until adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabrice Damon
- Developmental Ethology and Cognitive Psychology Laboratory, Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l’Alimentation, Inrae, AgroSup Dijon, CNRS (UMR 6265), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
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6
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Blomkvist A, Hofer M. Olfactory impairment and close social relationships. A narrative review. Chem Senses 2021; 46:6342176. [PMID: 34351415 PMCID: PMC8385889 DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjab037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Olfactory impairment is one of the more unique symptoms of COVID-19 infection and has therefore enjoyed increased public attention in recent months. Olfactory impairment has various implications and consequences ranging from difficulty detecting dangerous pathogens to hindering social functioning and social behaviors. We provide an overview of how olfactory impairment can impact 3 types of close social relationships: family relationships, friendships, and romantic relationships. Evidence is divided into several categories representing potential mechanisms by which olfactory impairment can impact close social relationships: bonding disruptions, decreased social support, missed group-eating experiences, hygiene concerns, and altered sexual behaviors. We conclude with a discussion of emerging future research questions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marlise Hofer
- University of Victoria, Department of Psychology.,University of British Columbia, Department of Psychology
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Boesveldt S, Parma V. The importance of the olfactory system in human well-being, through nutrition and social behavior. Cell Tissue Res 2021; 383:559-567. [PMID: 33433688 PMCID: PMC7802608 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-020-03367-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Accepted: 11/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The human sense of smell is still much underappreciated, despite its importance for vital functions such as warning and protection from environmental hazards, eating behavior and nutrition, and social communication. We here approach olfaction as a sense of well-being and review the available literature on how the sense of smell contributes to building and maintaining well-being through supporting nutrition and social relationships. Humans seem to be able to extract nutritional information from olfactory food cues, which can trigger specific appetite and direct food choice, but may not always impact actual intake behavior. Beyond food enjoyment, as part of quality of life, smell has the ability to transfer and regulate emotional conditions, and thus impacts social relationships, at various stages across life (e.g., prenatal and postnatal, during puberty, for partner selection and in sickness). A better understanding of how olfactory information is processed and employed for these functions so vital for well-being may be used to reduce potential negative consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanne Boesveldt
- Division of Human Nutrition and Health, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Valentina Parma
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, 1701 North 13th Street, PA, 19122, Philadelphia, USA. .,Monell Chemical Senses Center, 3500 Market St., PA, Philadelphia, 19104, USA.
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8
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Dal Bò E, Gentili C, Cecchetto C. Human Chemosignals and Brain Activity: A Preliminary Meta-analysis of the Processing of Human Body Odors. Chem Senses 2020; 45:855-864. [PMID: 33179726 DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjaa067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Across phyla, chemosignals are a widely used form of social communication and increasing evidence suggests that chemosensory communication is present also in humans. Chemosignals can transfer, via body odors, socially relevant information, such as specific information about identity or emotional states. However, findings on neural correlates of processing of body odors are divergent. The aims of this meta-analysis were to assess the brain areas involved in the perception of body odors (both neutral and emotional) and the specific activation patterns for the perception of neutral body odor (NBO) and emotional body odor (EBO). We conducted an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis on 16 experiments (13 studies) examining brain activity during body odors processing. We found that the contrast EBO versus NBO resulted in significant convergence in the right middle frontal gyrus and the left cerebellum, whereas the pooled meta-analysis combining all the studies of human odors showed significant convergence in the right inferior frontal gyrus. No significant cluster was found for NBOs. However, our findings also highlight methodological heterogeneity across the existing literature. Further neuroimaging studies are needed to clarify and support the existing findings on neural correlates of processing of body odors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Dal Bò
- Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Via Orus 2/B, Padua, Italy.,Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8, Padua, Italy
| | - Claudio Gentili
- Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Via Orus 2/B, Padua, Italy.,Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8, Padua, Italy
| | - Cinzia Cecchetto
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8, Padua, Italy
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Rekow D, Leleu A, Poncet F, Damon F, Rossion B, Durand K, Schaal B, Baudouin JY. Categorization of objects and faces in the infant brain and its sensitivity to maternal odor: further evidence for the role of intersensory congruency in perceptual development. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2020.100930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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10
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Silva F, Gomes N, Korb S, Semin GR. Not All Emotions Are Equal: Fear Chemosignals Lower Awareness Thresholds Only for Fearful Faces. Chem Senses 2020; 45:601-608. [DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjaa047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Exposure to body odors (chemosignals) collected under different emotional states (i.e., emotional chemosignals) can modulate our visual system, biasing visual perception. Recent research has suggested that exposure to fear body odors, results in a generalized faster access to visual awareness of different emotional facial expressions (i.e., fear, happy, and neutral). In the present study, we aimed at replicating and extending these findings by exploring if these effects are limited to fear odor, by introducing a second negative body odor—that is, disgust. We compared the time that 3 different emotional facial expressions (i.e., fear, disgust, and neutral) took to reach visual awareness, during a breaking continuous flash suppression paradigm, across 3 body odor conditions (i.e., fear, disgust, and neutral). We found that fear body odors do not trigger an overall faster access to visual awareness, but instead sped-up access to awareness specifically for facial expressions of fear. Disgust odor, on the other hand, had no effects on awareness thresholds of facial expressions. These findings contrast with prior results, suggesting that the potential of fear body odors to induce visual processing adjustments is specific to fear cues. Furthermore, our results support a unique ability of fear body odors in inducing such visual processing changes, compared with other negative emotional chemosignals (i.e., disgust). These conclusions raise interesting questions as to how fear odor might interact with the visual processing stream, whilst simultaneously giving rise to future avenues of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fábio Silva
- William James Center for Research, Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Nuno Gomes
- William James Center for Research, ISPA—Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Sebastian Korb
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse, Wien, Austria
| | - Gün R Semin
- William James Center for Research, ISPA—Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco, Lisbon, Portugal
- Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Calvi E, Quassolo U, Massaia M, Scandurra A, D'Aniello B, D'Amelio P. The scent of emotions: A systematic review of human intra- and interspecific chemical communication of emotions. Brain Behav 2020; 10:e01585. [PMID: 32212329 PMCID: PMC7218249 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2019] [Revised: 01/05/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The sense of olfaction has been considered of minor importance in human communication. In recent years, evidence has emerged that humans might be influenced by unconscious messages sent through chemosignals in body odors. Data concerning the ability of humans to recognize fear, maybe related to the evolutionary role of these emotions in the fight-or-flight reactions, are well known. METHODS To further understand the role of emotional chemosignals in mediating communication in humans and its influence on animal behaviors, we conducted a systematic literature review. RESULTS Chemosignals derived from axillary odors collected under a variety of emotional stimuli and sad tears in humans affect receivers' social interactions, danger detection and risk-taking behavior, social aspects of eating, and performance under stressing conditions. In addition, beyond the fight-or-flight response, even the body odors of happiness can be perceived by others. Furthermore, human chemosignals can influence behaviors and stressful responses in animals, particularly dogs and horses, which may partially explain their special relationship with humans. CONCLUSION Our review highlights the importance of chemosignaling in human intra- and interspecific interactions and suggests the need for further investigations, both in physiological conditions and in patients with psychiatric or neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Calvi
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Umberto Quassolo
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | | | - Anna Scandurra
- Department of Biology, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy
| | - Biagio D'Aniello
- Department of Biology, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy
| | - Patrizia D'Amelio
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.,Department of Medicine, Geriatric Medicine and Geriatric Rehabilitation, CHUV, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland
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