How Smells Influence Our Hormones, Health & Behavior | Dr. Noam Sobel

About this video

Dr. Noam Sobel, a neurobiologist at the Weizmann Institute studying olfaction and chemosensation, teaches how smell influences hormones, health, and behavior. Huberman highlights discoveries from Dr. Sobel’s laboratory: humans can follow scent trails and smell as well as dogs in some respects; people take in chemicals from others’ bodies and the cloud around them and process information about stress and hormone levels subconsciously; others’ tears impact hormone levels; nostril airflow alternates on a regular schedule reflecting alertness; and people periodically smell themselves, even unknowingly, in ways that change cognition and behavior. In the excerpted segment, Dr. Sobel discusses body odor preferences linked to MHC immune-system genetics, the vomeronasal organ and pheromone-related signaling in other mammals, and the Bruce effect discovered by Margaret Bruce in 1959, in which exposure to a non-stud male’s odor can end an early pregnancy in mice.

Key takeaways

• Dr. Sobel argues humans are remarkably good at sensing the chemical world, Huberman notes.
• Dr. Sobel describes subconscious processing of others’ chemicals for stress and hormone information.
• Dr. Sobel discusses tears of others impacting hormone levels, Huberman highlights.
• Dr. Sobel links body odor preferences to MHC immune genetics.
• Dr. Sobel explains the Bruce effect in mice as a remarkable chemosignaling phenomenon.

Episode details: published May 1, 2023 · 3.6M views · 3:13:16 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. The science and protocols described are Andrew Huberman’s, presented for education — not medical advice. Consult a qualified professional before changing your own health practices.

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