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Summary of Transcript:
In this episode of the Huberman Lab podcast, Professor Andrew Huberman interviews Dr Noam Sobel, a neurobiologist at the Wiseman Institute of Science who studies olfaction and chemosensation. They discuss several incredible discoveries made in Dr Sobel’s laboratory, including the fact that humans are just as good at smelling things as dogs, and that every time we interact with someone, we are taking in their chemicals and processing information about them subconsciously. They also discuss how tears can impact our hormone levels, and the alternating dynamics of our nervous system that affect how alert or sleepy we feel. The podcast is sponsored by companies such as Roca and Helix Sleep.
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Summary of Description:
Dr. Noam Sobel discusses his research on olfaction, specifically the biological mechanisms of smell and how it impacts human behavior, cognition, social connections, and hormones. He discusses how smell is an important part of social sensing and how we use it to determine information about new people. Dr. Sobel also explains how smell influences emotions, hormone levels, memories, and the relationship between breathing and autonomic homeostasis. He describes his lab’s work on digitizing smell and how it could soon allow online communication to include the “sending of odors” via the internet. Additionally, he talks about how smell-based screening tests can aid in disease diagnosis and illustrates just how much sensitive human olfaction drives our biology and behavior.
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How Smell Impacts Our Biology and Behavior: Insights from Dr. Noam Sobel’s Research
In this episode of the Huberman Lab podcast, Dr. Andrew Huberman interviews Dr. Noam Sobel, a neurobiology professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Dr. Sobel discusses his lab’s research on olfaction and how it affects human behavior, cognition, hormones, and social connections.
The Importance of Smell in “Social Sensing”
Dr. Sobel cites smell as a crucial component of “social sensing.” Humans use olfaction when meeting new people to determine things about their physiology and psychology, including romantic attraction. Smell is also shown to influence emotions, hormone levels, and memories. Dr. Sobel explains that these sensing mechanisms drive much of our biology and behavior.
The Relationship Between Smell and Autonomic Homeostasis
During the discussion, Dr. Sobel explains how the human nasal cycle alternates between the left and right nostrils, which is linked to changes in the autonomic nervous system. This cycle influences breathing and cognitive processing, which in turn affects our physiological rhythms.
Dr. Sobel describes smell-based screening tests that his lab is researching, which could aid disease diagnosis. He also discusses his lab’s work on digitization of smell, which may soon enable “sending of odors” via the internet.
Smell and Human Health
Dr. Sobel’s research also focuses on the effects of smell on human health. For instance, he explains that neurological diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s are often heralded by the loss of one’s sense of smell. Dr. Sobel also shares information regarding congenital anosmia, a condition in which individuals are born without a sense of smell.
The Power of Smell in Social Interaction and Attraction
Dr. Sobel’s work on the “Bruce Effect” explains the social chemosignals that lead to miscarriage in some animals. Additionally, human handshaking provides an opportunity for individuals to share chemicals and assess physiological status. Dr. Sobel notes the importance of continued research in this area. For instance, he highlights his lab’s investigation of attraction based on differences in major histocompatibility complex of partners.
Smells and Emotional States
The podcast episode also delves into the connection between emotions and smell. Dr. Sobel explains that human tears contain chemosignals, and their shedding is linked to the release of oxytocin. Other smells affect testosterone levels, including the scent of human sweat, which can trigger aggression in some contexts.
Conclusion
Dr. Noam Sobel’s research on the mechanisms of smell in human biology and behavior provides fascinating insights into how these factors are interconnected. From social sensing and attraction to disease diagnosis and online communication, the role of olfaction is complex and multifaceted. Continued research in this field will only deepen our understanding of the fundamental nature of human biology and behavior.
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See Original Source
Source Description
In this episode, my guest is Noam Sobel, PhD, professor of neurobiology in the department of brain sciences at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Dr. Sobel explains his lab’s research on the biological mechanisms of smell (“olfaction”) and how sensing odorants and chemicals in our environment impacts human behavior, cognition, social connections, and hormones. He explains how smell is a crucial component of “social sensing” and how we use olfaction when meeting new people to determine things about their physiology and psychology, and he explains how this impacts friendships and romantic partners. He explains how smell influences emotions, hormone levels, memories and the relationship between breathing and autonomic homeostasis. He describes how smell-based screening tests can aid disease diagnosis and explains his lab’s work on digitization of smell — which may soon allow online communication to include “sending of odors” via the internet. Dr. Sobel’s work illustrates how sensitive human olfaction is and how it drives much of our biology and behavior.
#HubermanLab #Science #Smell
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Dr. Noam Sobel
Lab website: https://www.weizmann.ac.il/brain-sciences/worg
Lab Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/odorspaceWORG
Publications: https://www.weizmann.ac.il/brain-sciences/worg/publications
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LabWorg
Articles
The Age of Olfactory Bulb Neurons in Humans: https://bit.ly/41NMjb6
The Privileged Brain Representation of First Olfactory Associations: https://bit.ly/3LGEePP
Mechanisms of scent-tracking in humans: https://go.nature.com/41Sm03w
Measuring and Characterizing the Human Nasal Cycle: https://bit.ly/44dqGmi
Human non-olfactory cognition phase-locked with inhalation: https://go.nature.com/44iPIQQ
A social chemosignaling function for human handshaking: https://bit.ly/3Lo5kK6
There is chemistry in social chemistry: https://bit.ly/41TVIhq
MHC-dependent mate preferences in humans: https://bit.ly/41SbgCc
An Exteroceptive Block to Pregnancy in the Mouse: https://go.nature.com/3VnxRnN
Fear-Related Chemosignals Modulate Recognition of Fear in Ambiguous Facial Expressions: https://bit.ly/3NqAPpD
Sniffing the human body volatile hexadecanal blocks aggression in men but triggers aggression in women: https://bit.ly/3oQ6NBv
Menstrual Synchrony and Suppression: https://go.nature.com/3LRF9xf
Regulation of ovulation by human pheromones: https://go.nature.com/44jODbt
Human Tears Contain a Chemosignal: https://bit.ly/41Qmkjr
Why Only Humans Shed Emotional Tears: https://bit.ly/41W71pl
Revisiting the revisit: added evidence for a social chemosignal in human emotional tears: https://bit.ly/44dygNJ
Increase of tear volume in dogs after reunion with owners is mediated by oxytocin: https://bit.ly/41W73gX
An olfactory self-test effectively screens for COVID-19: https://go.nature.com/3Vj6z1S
Other Resources
Joachim Löw video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOstSv7SrRU
Osmo: https://osmo.ai
Odor Space: https://odorspace.weizmann.ac.il
Timestamps
00:00:00 Dr. Noam Sobel
00:03:46 Sponsors: ROKA, Thesis, Helix Sleep
00:06:46 Olfaction Circuits (Smell)
00:14:49 Loss & Regeneration of Smell, Illness
00:21:39 Brain Processing of Smell
00:24:40 Smell & Memories
00:27:52 Sponsor: AG1 (Athletic Greens)
00:29:07 Humans & Odor Tracking
00:39:25 The Alternating Nasal Cycle & Autonomic Nervous System
00:48:18 Cognitive Processing & Breathing
00:54:47 Neurodegenerative Diseases & Olfaction
01:00:12 Congenital Anosmia
01:05:01 Sponsor: InsideTracker
01:06:19 Handshaking, Sharing Chemicals & Social Sensing
01:15:07 Smelling Ourselves & Smelling Others
01:22:02 Odors & Romantic Attraction
01:24:58 Vomeronasal Organ, “Bruce Effect” & Miscarriage
01:40:20 Social Chemo-Signals, Fear
01:50:26 Chemo-Signaling, Aggression & Offspring
02:03:57 Menstrual Cycle Synchronization
02:12:11 Sweat, Tears, Emotions & Testosterone
02:27:46 Science Politics
02:37:54 Food Odors & Nutritional Value
02:45:34 Human Perception & Odorant Similarity
02:52:12 Digitizing Smell, COVID-19 & Smell
03:05:50 Medical Diagnostic Future & Olfaction Digitization
03:10:55 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter
Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac – https://www.blabacphoto.com
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