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Rozenkrantz L, Weissgross R, Weiss T, Ravreby I, Frumin I, Shushan S, Gorodisky L, Reshef N, Holzman Y, Pinchover L, Endevelt-Shapira Y, Mishor E, Soroka T, Finkel M, Tagania L, Ravia A, Perl O, Furman-Haran E, Carp H, Sobel N. Unexplained repeated pregnancy loss is associated with altered perceptual and brain responses to men's body-odor. eLife 2020; 9:e55305. [PMID: 32988456 PMCID: PMC7524551 DOI: 10.7554/elife.55305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Mammalian olfaction and reproduction are tightly linked, a link less explored in humans. Here, we asked whether human unexplained repeated pregnancy loss (uRPL) is associated with altered olfaction, and particularly altered olfactory responses to body-odor. We found that whereas most women with uRPL could identify the body-odor of their spouse, most control women could not. Moreover, women with uRPL rated the perceptual attributes of men's body-odor differently from controls. These pronounced differences were accompanied by an only modest albeit significant advantage in ordinary, non-body-odor-related olfaction in uRPL. Next, using structural and functional brain imaging, we found that in comparison to controls, most women with uRPL had smaller olfactory bulbs, yet increased hypothalamic response in association with men's body-odor. These findings combine to suggest altered olfactory perceptual and brain responses in women experiencing uRPL, particularly in relation to men's body-odor. Whether this link has any causal aspects to it remains to be explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liron Rozenkrantz
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Reut Weissgross
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Tali Weiss
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Inbal Ravreby
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Idan Frumin
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Sagit Shushan
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
- Department of Otolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery, Edith Wolfson Medical Center, Holon, Israel
| | - Lior Gorodisky
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Netta Reshef
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Yael Holzman
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Liron Pinchover
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Yaara Endevelt-Shapira
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Eva Mishor
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Timna Soroka
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Maya Finkel
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Liav Tagania
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Aharon Ravia
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Ofer Perl
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Edna Furman-Haran
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
- Life Sciences Core Facilities, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Howard Carp
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
| | - Noam Sobel
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Rehovot, Israel
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