Pheromones and Gender Identity:
A pilot study using cerebral electrical activity

by Molo Mt, Cappai E, Castelli L, Perozzo P, Tomassoni C, Vighetti S

Presentation at The 8th Congress of European Federation of Sexology, June, 2006, Prague

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The design of this study is to examine the cerebral electrical activity of a transsexual and of a heterosexual group under the effect of nasal administration of male and female pheromones during erotic visual stimulation.

Pheromones are odourless chemical substances that play an important role in the sexual behaviour of many animal species.

Mammalian pheromones seem to influence the GnRH response associated with changes in LH and FSH pulsatility, which is connected with steroid production. There are more GnRH neurons in male hypothalamus (human and not) that could explain the more frequent GnRH pulse and, as a consequence, the increased production both of LH and of androgens; on the contrary, the fewer GnRH neurons in female hypothalamus could be correlated with the less frequent GnRH pulse and, as a consequence, with an increased production both of FSH and estrogens. Testosterone═and estradiol are the steroid hormones that modulate the secondary sexual characteristics, the neurotrasmission and therefore behaviour. Thus, it seems likely to be an olfactory-genetic-neuronal-hormonal link among pheromones, GnRH pulsatility, steroid releasing and mammalian behaviour.

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The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is fundamental in pheromones perceptions and there are data in literature it does exists in humans. The vomeronasal organ is a pit located bilaterally on the anterior part of the nasal septum and its length increases over the years (Smith et al 1997). D 4 This organ is directly connected to the nuclei of the hypothalamus involved in sexual behaviour. According to Jennings-White (1995) men are particularly sensitive to estra-tetra-enтl, the female pheromone, while women are particularly sensitive to andro-stаdie-none, the male pheromone.

Some studies (Monti-Bloch et al,1998) found that the vomeronаsal organ and the pheromons may modulate certain autonomic functions such as the heart rate, the electrodermal activity and the respiratory frequency. On this basis, we decided to study if they can also modulate the brain electrical activity and if there are any differences among men women and MtF transsexuals.

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