Olfaction - Human Olfactory System

Human Olfactory System

In women, the sense of olfaction is strongest around the time of ovulation, significantly stronger than during other phases of the menstrual cycle and also stronger than the sense in males.

The MHC genes (known as HLA in humans) are a group of genes present in many animals and important for the immune system; in general, offspring from parents with differing MHC genes have a stronger immune system. Fish, mice and female humans are able to smell some aspect of the MHC genes of potential sex partners and prefer partners with MHC genes different from their own.

Humans can detect individuals that are blood-related kin (mothers/fathers and children but not husbands and wives) from olfaction. Mothers can identify by body odor their biological children but not their stepchildren. Preadolescent children can olfactorily detect their full siblings but not half-siblings or step siblings and this might explain incest avoidance and the Westermarck effect. Functional imaging shows that this olfactory kinship detection process involves the frontal-temporal junction, the insula, and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex but not the primary or secondary olfactory cortices, or the related piriform cortex or orbitofrontal cortex.