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Psychological Science Vol. 25 No. 3 2014

The Scent of Disease

Mats J. Olsson1; Johan N. Lundström1,2,3; Bruce A. Kimball2,4; Amy R. Gordon1,2; Bianka Karshikoff1; Nishteman Hosseini1; Kimmo Sorjonen1; Caroline Olgart Höglund1; Carmen Solares1; Anne Soop1; John Axelsson1; Mats Lekander1,5

1 Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet · 2 Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · 3 Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania · 4 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · 5 Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University

Abstract

Observational studies have suggested that with time, some diseases result in a characteristic odor emanating from different sources on the body of a sick individual. Evolutionarily, however, it would be more advantageous if the innate immune response were detectable by healthy individuals as a first line of defense against infection by various pathogens, to optimize avoidance of contagion. We activated the innate immune system in healthy individuals by injecting them with endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide). Within just a few hours, endotoxin-exposed individuals had a more aversive body odor relative to when they were exposed to a placebo. Moreover, this effect was statistically mediated by the individuals' level of immune activation. This chemosensory detection of the early innate immune response in humans represents the first experimental evidence that disease smells and supports the notion of a "behavioral immune response" that protects healthy individuals from sick ones by altering patterns of interpersonal contact.

DOI
10.1177/0956797613515681
Volume
25
Issue
3
Pages
817-823
Language
en
Sources
crossref openalex

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