Brief exposure to putrescine increases vigilance, and readiness to either escape (flight), or engage in aggressive readiness (fight) when escape is not possible.

In four different experiments, the research team exposed people consciously and non-consciously to putrescine. The results reveal that putrescine can serve as a (non-conscious) signal that initiates threat management responses. The scientists found that even brief exposure to putrescine increases vigilance, followed by the readiness to either escape (flight), or engage in aggressive readiness (fight) when escape is not possible.
The authors said, "One of the outcomes of isolating putrescine in threat management processes is that it may help in determining which sensory and brain pathways are involved in chemosensory threat detection and processing."
The study was published in Frontiers in Psychology.
Source-IANS