Brain response to putative pheromones in homosexual men

TLDR

The testosterone derivative 4,16‑androstadien‑3‑one (AND) and the estrogen‑like steroid estra‑1,3,5(10),16‑tetraen‑3‑ol (EST) are candidate human pheromones, with AND detected mainly in male sweat and EST in female urine. The present study compared the hypothalamic activation patterns induced by AND and EST among homosexual men, heterosexual men, and heterosexual women. Using positron emission tomography, the researchers measured and compared the activation of sexually dimorphic nuclei in the anterior hypothalamus elicited by the two compounds across the three groups. Homosexual men exhibited hypothalamic activation to AND similar to heterosexual women, with maximal response in the medial preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus, whereas heterosexual men did not; common odors activated only olfactory regions in all groups, indicating a link between sexual orientation and pheromone‑related hypothalamic processing.

Abstract

The testosterone derivative 4,16-androstadien-3-one (AND) and the estrogen-like steroid estra-1,3,5(10),16-tetraen-3-ol (EST) are candidate compounds for human pheromones. AND is detected primarily in male sweat, whereas EST has been found in female urine. In a previous positron emission tomography study, we found that smelling AND and EST activated regions covering sexually dimorphic nuclei of the anterior hypothalamus, and that this activation was differentiated with respect to sex and compound. In the present study, the pattern of activation induced by AND and EST was compared among homosexual men, heterosexual men, and heterosexual women. In contrast to heterosexual men, and in congruence with heterosexual women, homosexual men displayed hypothalamic activation in response to AND. Maximal activation was observed in the medial preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus, which, according to animal studies, is highly involved in sexual behavior. As opposed to putative pheromones, common odors were processed similarly in all three groups of subjects and engaged only the olfactory brain (amygdala, piriform, orbitofrontal, and insular cortex). These findings show that our brain reacts differently to the two putative pheromones compared with common odors, and suggest a link between sexual orientation and hypothalamic neuronal processes.