Short description
In this entertaining book, a naturalist rescues the underappreciated sense of smell from obscurity and brings to light new evidence that Jacobson's Organ--two tiny pits inside the nostril--is the peromonal mechanism that triggers the areas of the brain affecting awareness, emotion, and sexual behavior.
Long description
According to naturalist and bestselling author Lyall Watson, we all possess an anatomical feature that could be one of the most important keys to unraveling the mysteries of the human mind. Two tiny pits located inside the nostril, long thought to be vestigial, Jacobson's Organ may in fact be an intrinsic part of our mammalian senses. In this entertaining and informative book, Watson rescues our most underappreciated sense from obscurity. He brings to light new evidence that this evolutionary apparatus, discovered in 1811, is the pheromonal mechanism that triggers the areas of the brain affecting awareness, emotion, and sexual behavior. This highly refined sense can help us determine everything from the suitability of potential mates to identifying offspring, and offers insight into how, why, and what we remember. Filled with surprising and delightful anecdotes, Jacobson's Organ sniffs out the scientific truths behind a wide range of phenomena and behaviors in the plant, animal, and human worlds.