I can smell your fear

bleg

STUDENTS facing exams this month, take heart: your companions can smell your fear, and they empathise.

That's the implication of a study by Bettina Pause at the University of Dusseldorf, Germany, and colleagues. They put absorbent pads under the armpits of 49 university students an hour before they took their final oral exam and again as the same students exercised. Another set of students then sniffed the sweat samples while having their brains scanned.

None perceived a difference between the two types of sweat, but the pre-exam sweat had a different effect on brain activity, lighting up areas that process social and emotional signals, as well as several areas thought to be involved in empathy (PLoS One, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005987).

The researchers conclude that anxiety prompts the release of a chemical that bypasses conscious experience, automatically triggering similar feelings in anyone who sniffs it. This may allow fear to spread quickly and speed our ability to flee danger. A previous experiment found that sweat from skydivers activated anxiety circuits in sniffers' brains.

Link: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327155.700-fellow-students-smell-your-exam-fear.html

Hagar

But I just had a shower?


/Edit I thought you said feet, carry on...

K4t

I'm sweating right now. Is is because I'm nervous or because I'm doing a certain strenous activity? You decide.

Aidric

I have sweaty ball bags most of the time.

Latchy

Heatwave wouldn't have anything to do with it ?

Captain-America

Aidric wrote: »

I have sweaty ball bags most of the time.

Ball bags? How many testicles do you have? I keep mine in the one bag.

DarkJager

I can smell your birch.

Latchy

I keep mine in a sack

Whosbetter?

I smell Dinner burning!

/Runs to kitchen quickly

Aidric

Captain-America wrote: »

Ball bags? How many testicles do you have? I keep mine in the one bag.

I'm that guy from the two penises thread.

Captain-America

Aidric wrote: »

I'm that guy from the two penises thread.

Really?




What's it like?

Quazzie

Aidric wrote: »

I'm that guy from the two penises thread.

So you cut one off but the kept the two ball sacks.

Thats gotta look even weirder than two penises

Aidric

Captain-America wrote: »

Really?




What's it like?

It weighs me down sometimes but I just try to get on with things.

AlmightyCushion

That's not fear your smelling, it's raw meat and ky jelly.

Michellenman

bleg wrote: »

STUDENTS facing exams this month, take heart: your companions can smell your fear, and they empathise.

That's the implication of a study by Bettina Pause at the University of Dusseldorf, Germany, and colleagues. They put absorbent pads under the armpits of 49 university students an hour before they took their final oral exam and again as the same students exercised. Another set of students then sniffed the sweat samples while having their brains scanned.

None perceived a difference between the two types of sweat, but the pre-exam sweat had a different effect on brain activity, lighting up areas that process social and emotional signals, as well as several areas thought to be involved in empathy (PLoS One, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005987).

The researchers conclude that anxiety prompts the release of a chemical that bypasses conscious experience, automatically triggering similar feelings in anyone who sniffs it. This may allow fear to spread quickly and speed our ability to flee danger. A previous experiment found that sweat from skydivers activated anxiety circuits in sniffers' brains.

Link: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327155.700-fellow-students-smell-your-exam-fear.html

Who has exams in July?

galwayrush

I can't stop farting tonight, apologies all.:o

sub-x

Yeah thats not fear you smell,thats just students,they always smell like that