The Smell of Death: Evidence that Putrescine Elicits Threat Management Mechanisms

The ability to detect and respond to chemosensory threat cues in the environment plays a vital role in survival across species. However, little is known about which chemical compounds can act as olfactory threat signals in humans. We hypothesized that brief exposure to putrescine, a chemical compound produced by the breakdown of fatty acids in the decaying tissue of dead bodies, can function as a chemosensory warning signal, activating threat management responses (e.g., heightened alertness, fight-or-flight responses). 

This hypothesis was tested by gaging people’s responses to conscious and non-conscious exposure to putrescine. In Experiment 1, putrescine increased vigilance, as measured by a reaction time task. In Experiments 2 and 3, brief exposure to putrescine (vs. ammonia and a scentless control condition) prompted participants to walk away faster from the exposure site. Experiment 3 also showed that putrescine elicited implicit cognitions related to escape and threat. Experiment 4 found that exposure to putrescine, presented here below the threshold of conscious awareness, increased hostility toward an out-group member. 

Together, the results are the first to indicate that humans can process putrescine as a warning signal that mobilizes protective responses to deal with relevant threats. The implications of these results are briefly discussed.

Below:  The number of seconds it took participants to walk 80 m after exposure to the scent prime (Experiment 2). Asterisks denote that two groups differ at **p < 0.005.

Read more at: http://ht.ly/Ssj0O 

By: Arnaud Wisman1,* and Ilan Shrira2
1School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

2Department of Behavioral Sciences, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, AR, USA

1School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK