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iNature in terrestrial mammals, body volatiles can effectively trigger or prevent the same kind of aggressive behavior
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On November 19, 2021, the Eva Mishor team of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel published a research paper entitled "Sniffing the human body volatile hexadecanal blocks aggression in men but triggers aggression in women" in Science Advances.
The research tested 16 Aldehyde (HEX, more secreted by babies), a volatile substance in the human body as a social chemical signal in mammals, will it affect the aggressiveness of humans
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Using a proven behavioral paradigm, the study observed a clear separation: sniffing HEX prevented male aggression, but triggered female aggression
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Next, using functional brain imaging, the study found patterns of brain activity mirroring behavior: in men and women, HEX increased activity in the left corner gyrus, an area related to the perception of social cues
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Then, HEX regulates the functional connection between the angular gyrus and the brain network involving social evaluation (temporal pole) and aggressive execution (amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex) in a gender-dependent manner consistent with behavior: increase male connectivity, but Reduce female connectivity
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These findings suggest gender-specific sociochemical signals at the mechanical core of human aggressive behavior
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Finally, Science published a review article titled "Chemical emitted by babies could make men more docile, women more aggressive", which systematically summarized the research progress
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Social odors can trigger or stop the aggressive behavior of terrestrial mammals
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For example, if a baby rabbit is contaminated by the body odor of an unfamiliar female, the mother rabbit will attack the baby, and the two specific volatile components in the mouse’s urine will trigger aggressive behavior between males
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These chemical signals that trigger aggression are not all volatile: certain major urine proteins can also trigger aggression, which is an effect mediated by the accessory olfactory system
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In turn, chemical signals not only trigger aggression, but can also stop it
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For example, contaminating pigs with the known volatile reproductive pheromone androstenone can prevent homologous attacks on contaminated pigs
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All in all, both volatile and non-volatile chemical signals can trigger or prevent the aggressiveness of mammals
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Like all mammals, humans will engage in reactive attacks from an early age to a lifetime
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Although aggression is a major factor in the human condition, the mechanical and neural basis of human aggression is unclear
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Can the aggressive mechanism of humans be linked to the chemical signaling mechanisms of all other terrestrial mammals? Two studies have shown that humans emit aggressive and characteristic body odors.
An electroencephalogram (EEG) study has shown that these odors may be processed in different ways in the brains of men and women, but whether human aggressive behavior is as good as possible How it is affected by social chemical signals is still unknown
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To test the hypothesis that social chemical signals can regulate human aggression by regulating neural activity, the study used standard behavioral and neuroimaging attack paradigms, with and without concurrent social chemical signals
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As a social chemical signal, the study tested hexadecyl aldehyde (HEX), a volatile long-chain fatty aldehyde
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Although species specificity is considered as a sign of social chemical signaling, some chemical signaling molecules may be conserved among species and have similar or different meanings
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Because the mouse receptor of HEX (OR37B) is highly conserved in mammals, some people think that HEX may be a conserved signaling molecule across species
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There are several reasons for choosing HEX: firstly, humans express the OR37 receptor ortholog; secondly, although pentadecal and heptadecyl aldehyde also bind to OR37, only HEX is excreted from human feces, skin and breath ; Finally, exposure to HEX reduced the startle response in humans, suggesting the effect of HEX on arousal
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With all of this in mind, the study tested whether and how HEX affects human aggression
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Using a proven behavioral paradigm, the study observed a clear separation: sniffing HEX prevented male aggression, but triggered female aggression
.

Next, using functional brain imaging, the study found patterns of brain activity mirroring behavior: in men and women, HEX increased activity in the left corner gyrus, an area related to the perception of social cues
.

Then, HEX regulates the functional connection between the angular gyrus and the brain network involving social evaluation (temporal pole) and aggressive execution (amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex) in a gender-dependent manner consistent with behavior: increase male connectivity, but Reduce female connectivity
.

These findings suggest gender-specific sociochemical signals at the mechanical core of human aggressive behavior
.

Reference message: https:// /sciadv.
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