I Smell Your Fear!

Is it true that we can literally smell someone's fear - and act accordingly, with an empathetic response? What is the neural basis for this? This team of German scientists have supplied the answer. Using an olfactometer they supplied the smell of sweat produced by heavy exercise and that produced by anxiety to volunteers. When they smelled fear fMRI results indicated that areas of the brain associated with social intelligence - part of the "social brain" - the insula, precuneus and cingulate cortex - together with parts of the brain that process higher order attentional stimuli - the thalamus and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex - were very active. Here is clear evidence for how raw and basic sensory material can be processed in the brain to produce complex social behaviour.