Women Have Better Olfactory Sense: Study

The part of the brain associated with olfactory is larger in women than men and this explains the fact why women have a stronger sense of smell than men, according to a new study. The research team found out that compared to men, women have 43 percent more brain cells called olfactory bulb and this is the first part of the brain to get the smell after the nostrils.

“Thus, women’s olfactory superiority has been suggested to be cognitive or emotional rather than perceptual,” said researchers from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

The team calculated the number of cells in the olfactory bulb using isotropic fractionators method. For the calculations, the team assessed post-mortem brains from seven men and 11 women. They were over 55 years at the time of death.

Thus, the difference in the olfactory part of the two sexes explains the different social behaviour of men and women and researchers say this also goes on to reveal how smell is linked with different experiences and emotions for the two genders.

According to the study, the sense of smell is an integral part of reproductive behaviour such as pair bonding and kin recognition.

The research also said that the superior olfactory ability is genetic and that the trait has been inherited and maintained throughout evolution.

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Source-Medindia