Women's Scent Triggers Hormone Surge in Men

Scent of an Ovulating Woman Prompts Testosterone Rise in Men
By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Health News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Jan. 15, 2010 -- Forget the pricey perfume. The natural scent of a woman at her most fertile may be enough to attract a mate.

A new study shows that when men smell T-shirts worn by women while ovulating, it triggers a surge in the sex hormone testosterone.

Researchers say it's the first study to show that olfactory cues to a woman's ovulation stimulate a biological response in men that may affect mating behavior.

"Men who smelled a T-shirt worn by a woman on her estimated day of ovulation responded with higher testosterone levels than men who smelled a T-shirt worn by a woman earlier or later in her cycle," write researchers Saul L. Miller and Jon K. Maner of Florida State University in Psychological Science. "Additionally, consistent with previous findings, our results showed that men perceived women's odors to be most pleasant right around the time of ovulation."

(More here.)