Odeurs et saveurs du sein et du lait : facilitatrices de l'allaitement et promotrices d'apprentissages

National audience

Human neonatal responses to androstenone

Poster P327 session VII: Olfactory Psychophysics & Clinical Studies; Central Olfaction; Aims. Human newborns show equal attraction to the odors of amniotic. fluid (AF) and mothers’ colostrum [1]. As 5-a-androst-16-en-3-. one (An) has been found in both fluids [2, 3], we studied it as a. potential vector of this perinatal odor continuity and of neonatal. attraction to the smell of breast and milk [4]. Methods. Two studies. were run. 1) We recorded the behavior of 16 newborns (3 days) and. 26 adults exposed to a saturating water solution of An and to 3. reference odorants [butyric acid, B; vanilla, V; water, W]. 2) We videotaped. 26 newborns (3 days) being administered 7 stimuli: 4 dilution. …

Responsiveness of human neonates to the odor of 5alpha-androst-16-en-3-one: A behavioral paradox?

The odorous steroid 5alpha-androst-16-en-3-one (AND) occurs in numerous biological fluids in mammals, including man, where it is believed to play a chemocommunicative role. As AND was recently detected in milk and amniotic fluid, sensitivity and hedonic responses to this substance were assessed in human neonates. To this aim, respiration and facial expressions were recorded in 3-day-old newborns in response to aqueous solutions of AND, ranging from 500ng/mL to 0.5 fg/mL. Although analyses of respiratory rate did not lead to clear-cut results, the newborns changed their facial expressions at concentrations not detected by adults in a triangle test. Newborns displayed negative facial actions …

The human breast as a scent organ: structures, secretions, chemistry and possible functions in mother-infant interactions

Do overlapping odor constituents explain undifferentiated neonatal attraction to amniotic fluid and human milk?

ISBN-10: 3-938896-38-9 ISBN-13: 978-3-938896-38-9; International audience

Identification of odor active substances in human amniotic fluid

Poster P326 session VII: Olfactory Psychophysics & Clinical Studies; Central Olfaction; Objectives. Physiological evidence indicates that olfaction could. already function in the human fetus [1]. Right after birth the odor. of amniotic fluid (AF) is detectable to newborns and seems to. attract [2] and calm them [3]. Such early attraction may derive. from fetal learning/memory, and may help newborns adapt to the. postnatal environment. The chemosensory basis of AF. attractiveness has not been investigated yet, and this study aimed. to characterize odor active compounds therein. Methods. The. flavor profile of AF was monitored by descriptive sensory. evaluation using an adult panel, while the…

An overlooked aspect of the human breast: areolar glands in relation with breastfeeding pattern, neonatal weight gain, and the dynamics of lactation.

WOS: 000301474900013; International audience; The early nursing-sucking relationship is not to be taken for granted in humans. A number of factors can either facilitate or mitigate its optimal establishment on the mother's or newborn's sides. Among these factors, a morphological feature of human mothers' breasts--the areolar glands (AG)--has been identified as potentially important. Three day-old infants display attraction during the presentation of the native secretions of the AG, suggesting that they could influence the newborn's behaviour during breastfeeding. The present study assessed this topic in a sample of 121 Caucasian mother-infant dyads. The areolae of these women were screened …

The influence of storage conditions on flavour changes in human milk

http://www.sciencedirect.com/ ; http://www.elsevier.com/; International audience; The effects of freeze-storage on human milk have been investigated with regard to sensory changes and modifications in the molecular composition of constituent odour-active volatiles. Sensory evaluation showed that fishy-metallic odour attributes are generated during storage, as are rancid-sweaty odour notes, which were described by panellists to be highly unpleasant. To monitor the dynamics of off-odour development in human milk, sensory evaluation in both orthonasal and retronasal mode was performed at defined time intervals of storage, with parallel evaluation of human milk samples that had been heated prio…

Olfactorily-conspicuous nipples as vital interfaces for colostrum intake in humans

Olfactory maternal effects: cues and signals promoting adaptive behaviour in infant mammals

Surdétermination de la cognition dans un système social contraint : le nouveau-né et les odeurs

Human sweat odour conjugates in human milk, colostrum and amniotic fluid

International audience; Using ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry we identified for the first time glutamine-N-alpha-conjugates of the fatty acids (E)/(Z)-3-methylhex-2-enoic acid and (R)/(S)-3-hydroxy-3-methylhexanoic acid as well as cysteinylglycine-S-conjugates of (R)/(S)-3-methyl-3-sulphanylhexan-1-ol and (R)/(S)-3-sulphanylhexan-1-ol as constituents of human milk and colostrum. The glutamine-N-alpha-conjugates were detected also in human amniotic fluids. The mean values of glutamine-N-alpha-conjugate of (R)/(S)-3-hydroxy-3-methylhexanoic acid were highest in colostrums with a range of <0.1-382 mu g/kg, followed by the mature human milk with values from <0.1 to 39.…

Chemical and behavioral approaches in the elucidation of olfactory interactions between human mothers and newborns

The Human Mammary Odour Factor: Variability and Regularities in Sources and Functions

In the course of evolution, human mothers have been, and still are, under strong selective pressure to induce their newborns’ colostrum ingestion promptly after birth. As a concentrate of nutrients, passive immunity, antioxidants, growth factors and symbiotic microbiota, colostrum functions as the evolved antidote to ubiquitous pathogens and threats of neonatal exhaustion. Under such constraints, any means to speed up colostrum/milk intake can only have been beneficial to neonatal viability and adaptive life onset along evolutionary time. The areolar-nipple areas of human lactating females emit lacteal substrates conveying chemostimuli that are attractive and release mouthing and sucking in…

Unconditional response to offensive smells: what we learn from newborns'reactions

Years after years, the accumulation of results permits us to better. understand the development of human food preferences during the. lifespan. The foetal and neonatal periods appear to be very important. in this process. Neonates are attracted to volatile compounds. being present in the amniotic environment (Marlier et al., 1997). Women who consumed garlic, alcohol, anise, or carrot flavour in. late pregnancy produce offsprings that manifest positive responses. towards these odorants, for durations ranging from hours, days to. months (Hepper, 1995; Faas et al., 2000; Schaal et al., 2000; Mennella. et al., 2001). After birth, the exposition to an artificial odorant. (camomile) spread on the…

Mammary olfactory signalisation in females and odor processing in neonates: ways evolved by rabbits and humans

International audience; Mammalian females have long been known to release olfactory attraction in their offspring. Mammary odor cues control infant state, attention and directional responses, delay distress responses, stimulate breathing and positive oral actions, and finally can boost learning. Here, we survey female-offspring odor communication in two mammalian species - European rabbits and humans - taken as representatives of evolutionary extremes in terms of structure and dynamics of mother-infant relations, and level of neonatal autonomy. Despite these early psychobiological differences, females in both species have evolved mammary structures combining multiple sources of endogenous a…

Les odeurs du sein, les réponses néonatales d'appétence et la dynamique de la lactation

The Secretion of Areolar (Montgomery's) Glands from Lactating Women Elicits Selective, Unconditional Responses in Neonates

Background The communicative meaning of human areolae for newborn infants was examined here in directly exposing 3-day old neonates to the secretion from the areolar glands of Montgomery donated by non related, non familiar lactating women. Methodology/Principal Findings The effect of the areolar stimulus on the infants' behavior and autonomic nervous system was compared to that of seven reference stimuli originating either from human or non human mammalian sources, or from an arbitrarily-chosen artificial odorant. The odor of the native areolar secretion intensified more than all other stimuli the infants' inspiratory activity and appetitive oral responses. These responses appeared to deve…

Human breast areolae as scent organs: morphological data and possible involvement in maternal-neonatal coadaptation.

In humans, areolar skin glands (AG) enlarge during pregnancy and lactation. Their role in mother-infant interactions may pertain to protective, mechanical, and communicative functions. It was questioned here whether more profuse AG could be related to more optimal adaptation to breastfeeding. A morphological study of the areolae was undertaken between birth and day 3 to assess the number, secretory status, and spatial distribution of AG. These data were related to infants' weight variation, mothers' perception of their infant's behavior at breast, and time between delivery and onset of lactation. AG were seen in virtually all women but with great interindividual variations; their areolar di…