Recent research from the Weizmann Institute of Science suggests that human tears contain chemicals that reduce aggression in others, similar to the tears of other animals. This discovery challenges the long-held belief that human tears were unique in their emotional function. The study, published in PLOS Biology, found that sniffing women’s tears lowered brain activity related to aggression in men, resulting in reduced aggressive behavior.
Prof. Noam Sobel and Shani Agron
Prof. Noam Sobel and his team at the Weizmann Institute of Science had previously demonstrated in 2011 that sniffing women’s emotional tears reduced testosterone levels in men. In the most recent study, led by PhD student Shani Agron, male participants exposed to women’s emotional tears showed a significant decrease in revenge-seeking aggressive behavior. The researchers also found that human olfactory receptors were activated by the tears, despite tears being odorless, and that brain imaging showed reduced activity in aggression-related brain regions when men were sniffing tears.
