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PLoS One

Title:		"Androstadienone sensitivity is associated with attention to emotions, social interactions, and sexual behavior in older U.S. adults"
Author(s):		Kern DW; Kaufmann GT; Hummer TA; Schumm LP; Wroblewski KE; Pinto JM; McClintock MK;
Address:		"Isidore Newman School, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America. Pritzker School of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America. Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America. Department of Public Health Sciences, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America. Department of Surgery, Section of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America. Department of Psychology, The Institute for Mind and Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America"
Journal Title:		PLoS One
Year:		2023
Volume:		20230113
Issue:		1
Page Number:		e0280082 -
DOI:		10.1371/journal.pone.0280082
ISSN/ISBN:		1932-6203 (Electronic) 1932-6203 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Delta 4,16-androstadien-3-one (androstadienone) is a putative human pheromone often linked to sexual attraction in young adults, although specific associations with sexual behavior are not yet established. Androstadienone also serves a broader social-emotional function beyond the sexual domain, specifically tuning the brain to efficiently process emotional information. Whether these effects persist throughout the lifespan into post-reproductive life is unknown. In a laboratory study of older adults, those with greater androstadienone odor sensitivity paid greater attention to subliminal emotional information, specifically, angry faces (p = 0.05), with a similar relationship to happy faces. In contrast, the physical odor n-butanol (a control) did not affect emotional attention (p = 0.49). We then extended this laboratory research and determined whether sensitivity to androstadienone affects the everyday lives of older adults by measuring their social and sexual behavior. In this second study, we surveyed in a nationally representative sample of US older adults living in their homes (National Social Life and Aging Project, 62-90 years; n = 2,086), along with their sensitivity to androstadienone, general olfactory function, health and demographics. Greater sensitivity to androstadienone was associated with richer social lives: having more friends, increased communication with close friends and family, and more participation in organized social events and volunteer activities (all p's
Keywords:		Young Adult Humans Adult Middle Aged Aged *Social Interaction *Emotions Sexual Behavior Odorants Anger;
Notes:		"MedlineKern, David W Kaufmann, Gabriel T Hummer, Tom A Schumm, L Philip Wroblewski, Kristen E Pinto, Jayant M McClintock, Martha K eng K23 AG036762/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ KL2 RR025000/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ UL1 RR024999/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural 2023/01/14 PLoS One. 2023 Jan 13; 18(1):e0280082. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280082. eCollection 2023"