Discrimination, body odors

In the rat and other rodents, individual odors probably reflect genetic differences. Laboratory rats can distinguish individuals. They discriminate between two intact males, two castrated males, two estrous/proestrous females, two diestrous/metestrous females, or two ovariectomized females. Urine odors differ individually despite differences in the levels of gonadal hormones. Individual recognition may be independent of reproductive state or social status, even though hormone-influenced body odors may be used for individual recognition (Brown, 1988). 

Human Body Odor Discrimination T-Shirt Experiment... 

The presence of different receptor neuron types forms the basis for detection of and discrimination among odorants in the environment. In addition, important processing of the information takes place in the brain, resulting in the behavioral responses. The three olfactory areas of the insect brain are the antennal lobe, the mushroom bodies (important in learning and memory), and the lateral... 

M agrestis. Voles were presented with paired traps—one scented with their own body odor and the other with body odor of another vole. The number choosing the trap in which they themselves had been held previously was statistically significantly higher than those choosing the other trap (n = 204, x = 9.49, o = < 0.005 > 0.001). I conclude from these two sets of data that odor discrimination occurs and can be demonstrated to occur under field conditions by observing the pattern of trap choice. 

Body odors also regulate social proximity outside the family. From 4 to 5 years of age, children recognize body odors of schoolmates, and girls appear better both at discriminating and at being discriminated than boys. In children, these group dynamics often indicate the affiliative networks and the... 

How are such diverse compounds detected and recognized to elicit the associated behavior Several steps contribute to the odor coding, such as olfactory receptor interactions and processing in mushroom bodies, but also including odor interactions with OBPs. The diversity and heterogeneity of OBPs implicates these proteins in the process of odor discrimination. 

Numerous studies with humans have examined the perception of odors collected on T-shirts and pads from the upper part of the body and the axillae (Russell, 1976 Doty, et al., 1978 Schleidt, 1980 Schleidt, et al., 1981). These odors allow individuals to identify their own smell as well as that of their spouse and close kin (Porter Moore, 1981 Cer-noch Porter, 1985 Porter, et al., 1986 Hepper, 1988). Analytical studies of axillary secretions collected from women across the menstrual cycle suggest changes in the ratios of both the odor-producing bacteria (Reilly, et al., 1996) and odorants (Preti, et al., 1987 Reilly, et al., 1996). These studies suggest that chemical cues from the axillae contain sufficient differences in the concentration of odorants to allow for discrimination of individuals and phase in the menstrual cycle in female subjects. 

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