Differences in brain activity during olfactory testing of female body odors between young men with and without sexual experience
- Authors: Litvinova N.A.1, Bulatova O.V.1, Traskovsky V.V.1, Zubrikova K.Y.1
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Affiliations:
- Kemerovo State University
- Issue: Vol 43, No 3 (2017)
- Pages: 345-352
- Section: Article
- URL: https://journals.rcsi.science/0362-1197/article/view/177208
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0362119717020116
- ID: 177208
Cite item
Abstract
Olfactory testing was performed in two groups of young men aged 18–22 years with and without sexual experience. Multichannel EEG was recorded at rest and upon the presentation of 45 natural body odors of young women in different phases of the menstrual cycle. The odors were either intact or mixed with J’Adore L’Absolu perfume (Christian Dior) with or without a female pheromone. Changes in spectral power within narrow frequency ranges in response to olfactory stimulation were estimated by multivariate analysis of variance. It was found that background electrical activity of the brain in young men with regular sex life had lower spectral power in all frequency ranges. The EEG responses to the intact olfactory stimuli in all young men were associated with a decrease in spectral power in the majority of the frequency ranges and especially in the θ2 and high- and low-frequency α rhythms. Presentation of female odors masked with a perfume resulted in bidirectional EEG responses; i.e., the spectral power in the θ1 and β1 ranges increased or decreased depending on the sexual experience of men and the menstrual cycle phase of a female donor as compared with an intact odor. The comparison of the EEG responses to intact or perfume-masked odors showed that individual odor remains dominant.
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About the authors
N. A. Litvinova
Kemerovo State University
Author for correspondence.
Email: litvinca@kemsu.ru
Russian Federation, Kemerovo
O. V. Bulatova
Kemerovo State University
Email: litvinca@kemsu.ru
Russian Federation, Kemerovo
V. V. Traskovsky
Kemerovo State University
Email: litvinca@kemsu.ru
Russian Federation, Kemerovo
K. Yu. Zubrikova
Kemerovo State University
Email: litvinca@kemsu.ru
Russian Federation, Kemerovo