Olfactory Communication of Sickness Cues in Respiratory Infection.

ABSTRACT: Animals detect sick conspecifics by way of body odor that enables the receiver to avoid potential infectious transmission. Human observational studies also indicate that different types of disease are associated with more or less aversive smells. In addition, body odors from otherwise healthy human individuals smell more aversive as a function of experimentally induced systemic inflammation. To investigate if naturally occurring immune activation also gives rise to perceivable olfactory changes, we collected body odor samples during two nights from individuals with a respiratory infection as well as when they were healthy. We hypothesized that independent raters would rate the body odor originating from sick individuals as smelling more aversive than when the same individuals were healthy.

SUBMITTER: Sarolidou G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7296143 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature