SynthesisBrain and behavior2020
The scent of emotions: A systematic review of human intra- and interspecific chemical communication of emotions.
Synthesis in Brain and behavior, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- The scent of emotions: A systematic review of human intra- and interspecific chemical communication of emotions.Brain and behavior · 2020Pooled it
- A quasi-randomised pilot study on the efficacy and perceived usefulness of adding chemosignals to mindfulness practice for women with social anxiety.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Article
- No evidence for disruption of empathy and mentalizing by face coverage in multimodal settings.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Enhanced sensitivity to odors due to chemosignals associated with anxiety.Communications chemistry · 2025Article
- Long-lasting effects of lavender exposure on brain resting-state networks in healthy women.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
- Not just avoidance: dogs show subtle individual differences in reacting to human fear chemosignals.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Article
- Human-dog trust and cohesion within French military canine teams.Military psychology : the official journal of the Division of Military Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2025Article
- Do sheep (Ovis aries) discriminate human emotional odors?Animal cognition · 2024Article
- Can scent-detection dogs detect the stress associated with trauma cue exposure in people with trauma histories? A proof-of-concept study.Frontiers in allergy · 2024Article
- A multiscale inflammatory map: linking individual stress to societal dysfunction.Frontiers in science · 2024Article
- A Review of the Effects of Some Extrinsic Factors on Mice Used in Research.Comparative medicine · 2023Review
- Effects of COVID-19 on Sense of Smell: Human Factors/Ergonomics Considerations.Human factors · 2023Review
- Horses discriminate human body odors between fear and joy contexts in a habituation-discrimination protocol.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- OdorTAM: Technology Acceptance Model for Biometric Authentication System Using Human Body Odor.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Emotional expression in human odour.Evolutionary human sciences · 2022Review
- A Preliminary Investigation of Interspecific Chemosensory Communication of Emotions: Can Humans (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2021Article
- Olfaction in the Multisensory Processing of Faces: A Narrative Review of the Influence of Human Body Odors.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Review
- Interprofessional perceptions of emotional, social, and ethical effects of multidrug-resistant organisms: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe sense of olfaction has been considered of minor importance in human communication. In recent years, evidence has emerged that humans might be influenced by unconscious messages sent through chemosignals in body odors. Data concerning the ability of humans to recognize fear, maybe related to the evolutionary role of these emotions in the fight-or-flight reactions, are well known.
methodsTo further understand the role of emotional chemosignals in mediating communication in humans and its influence on animal behaviors, we conducted a systematic literature review.
resultsChemosignals derived from axillary odors collected under a variety of emotional stimuli and sad tears in humans affect receivers' social interactions, danger detection and risk-taking behavior, social aspects of eating, and performance under stressing conditions. In addition, beyond the fight-or-flight response, even the body odors of happiness can be perceived by others. Furthermore, human chemosignals can influence behaviors and stressful responses in animals, particularly dogs and horses, which may partially explain their special relationship with humans.
conclusionOur review highlights the importance of chemosignaling in human intra- and interspecific interactions and suggests the need for further investigations, both in physiological conditions and in patients with psychiatric or neurodegenerative disorders.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.