body odour versus cheddar cheese

[piranha]

this is very interesting; i'll need to get ahold of this paper: "Cognitive Modulation of Olfactory Processing," by Ivan E. deAraujo et al., in Neuron 46:671-679 -- May 19, 2005.

summary:

We showed how cognitive, semantic information modulates olfactory representation in the brain by providing a visual word descriptor, 'cheddar cheese' or 'body odor,' during the delivery of a test odor ... and also during the delivery of clean air. Clean air labeled 'air' was used as a control. Subjects rated the affective value of the test odor as significantly more unpleasant when labeled 'body odor' than when labeled 'cheddar cheese.' In an event-related fMRI design we showed that the rostral anterior cingulate cortext (ACC)/medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) was significantly more activated by the test stimulus and by clean air when labeled 'cheddar cheese' than when labeled 'body odor,' and the activations were correlated with the pleasantness ratings. This cognitive modulation was also found for the test odor (but not for the clean air) in the amygdala bilaterally.

this might explain part of why i feel hygienically at odds with much of america, which i've wondered about occasionally, being as my sense of smell is not underdeveloped -- i never got the linguistic indoctrination about "body odour = bad".

via ozarque.

Comments

[snippy]

Hmm. When I sweat from exertion, it smells good to me; when I sweat from anxiety or fear, it smells nasty.

[beaq.livejournal.com]

Yeah, or stress in general. The "sitting in the office all day trying to meet a deadline" stench.

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

The one I live with can tell instantly what kind of day I've had at work. I guess it's useful, from one point of view.

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

I could possibly download the PDF while I'm at work today, for research purposes of course, and once there's a copy on my laptop, I might be in a position to share the content with you.

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

if that were to happen, i'd be grateful. :)

[dubhain.livejournal.com]

Most normal body odor doesn't smell bad to me. OTOH, certain types of sweat do. There's a point at which it turns acrid and rancid on people. I find that, oddly enough, I don't seem to have problems smelling most people who've been doing heavy work (indoor / outdoor), but that people who've been doing gym workouts tend to smell bad - that acrid/rancid smell to me. I've no idea what it might be due to. It's not the thought of what they've been doing. There's a distinct difference, usually, in the smell.

I can also frequently tell when people are ill from their body odor, and often what sort of illness it is. Strange.

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

I can also frequently tell when people are ill from their body odor, and often what sort of illness it is. Strange.

Actually, I've heard that there was an idea to teach dogs different kinds of illness smells to help with diagnosis. What's cool is that you're human, and your nose is that good.

I wonder if the gym workouts is the contact with all the old sweat on the equipment. Does it depend on the gym? They can have different standards of cleanliness.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

I can often smell if somebody is really sleepy (as opposed to tired) sometimes if they are ill and less frequently if they are furious.

When people broke into my house I could tell there was a stranger in the room by being able to smell them. They smelled very sharply of fear.

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

The one time I was mugged, I first realised something was wrong when I could smell fear, and then they were on me. But I haven't heard of being able to smell sleepy. I wonder what the chemical is in that case?

Re: body odour versus cheddar cheese

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

huh. the gym bit is interesting -- i wonder what could cause that, since it's mostly the same type of exertion as physical labour. stale sweat on people and in clothes, that smells not so good to me. also, certain body parts when unwashed for a while smell extra unpleasant -- the groin area is one of those. but normal body odour (a range that includes fresh sweat) smells much better to me than most hygiene products.

i can smell certain physical conditions about people -- ketosis is a pretty obvious one (all those people on atkins' induction phase smell distinctly different to me, *heh*). i don't know, of course, what most of the smells are -- it's not like i'd be quite uncouth enough to walk up to somebody and inquire, even though, dammit, i want to. :) what i do know i learned from friends, and when working in hospitals, but in general there it's rather harder to tell individual smells because of the overpowering "hospital smells".

Re: body odour versus cheddar cheese

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

A theory: Possibly the smell is different in the gym because some people are doing very intense exercise into the anaerobic stage. That would change what they are metabolising for energy and that might have an effect on the pH of the sweat or the specific toxins that it contains.

Sorry for all the comments, but this is really interesting.

Re: body odour versus cheddar cheese

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

I'm another who is fascinated by smell and I wish it was more socially acceptable to talk about. On the other hand, the whole social taboo around it fascinates me too.

[firecat]

fresh body odor doesn't smell bad to me, but "many days' unbathed and wearing many days' worn and unwashed clothing" body odor does. I mostly have smelled the latter sort on people who aggressively beg in subway trains.

Also, polyester clothing sometimes seems to transform ordinary body odors into something icky.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

That's also my experience. I think that bacteria get into sweat and change the smell if it's been around for too long.

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

My foot odour is passable on its own, but it seems to react in a really unfortunate way with nylon within hours, so I've stopped wearing stockings/pantihose.