Kisspeptin Makes Men's Brains Respond More Strongly to Attractive Scents and Faces
Kisspeptin enhanced brain activity in attraction-processing regions, increased penile tumescence, and boosted attraction ratings in response to feminine scents and attractive faces in healthy men.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
In 33 healthy men, kisspeptin enhanced limbic brain activity (amygdala, caudate, putamen, thalamus) to olfactory and visual attraction cues, enhanced penile tumescence, and increased attraction scores.
Key Numbers
33 healthy men; enhanced amygdala, caudate, putamen, thalamus activity; increased penile tumescence and attraction scores
How They Did This
Double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2-way crossover fMRI study in 33 healthy heterosexual men.
Why This Research Matters
Expands kisspeptin's role beyond explicit sexual stimuli to broader attraction processing, suggesting it modulates fundamental mate-selection brain circuits.
The Bigger Picture
This study expands kisspeptin's known role from a purely reproductive hormone regulator to a modulator of attraction and desire circuits in the brain. Previous work showed kisspeptin enhances responses to explicit sexual content, but this study demonstrates it also amplifies responses to subtler cues — scents and faces. This positions kisspeptin as a potential therapeutic target for conditions involving low desire or attraction, such as hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), with a mechanism that works through natural brain attraction pathways rather than simply boosting hormone levels.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Male participants only. Healthy men, not HSDD patients. Single-session design.
Questions This Raises
- ?Does kisspeptin have similar effects on brain attraction responses in women?
- ?Could kisspeptin therapy help men with hypoactive sexual desire disorder or reduced attraction after hormonal treatment?
- ?Is kisspeptin's effect on attraction circuits independent of its effects on reproductive hormones like testosterone?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Enhanced limbic brain activity Kisspeptin significantly increased amygdala, caudate, putamen, and thalamus responses to attraction cues in healthy men
- Evidence Grade:
- Moderate evidence: rigorous double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design with objective fMRI and physiological measures, but limited to 33 healthy men in a single-session lab setting.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2020 in JCI Insight. Remains highly relevant as kisspeptin research for sexual function continues to advance toward clinical applications.
- Original Title:
- Kisspeptin enhances brain responses to olfactory and visual cues of attraction in men.
- Published In:
- JCI insight, 5(3) (2020)
- Authors:
- Comninos, Alexander N(2), Demetriou, Lysia, Wall, Matthew B, Shah, Amar J, Clarke, Sophie A, Dhillo, Waljit S
- Database ID:
- RPEP-04729
Evidence Hierarchy
Frequently Asked Questions
What is kisspeptin and what does it normally do?
Kisspeptin is a peptide hormone produced in the hypothalamus that triggers puberty and controls the release of reproductive hormones (GnRH, LH, FSH). This study shows it also plays a broader role in how the brain processes attraction and desire.
Could kisspeptin be used to treat low sexual desire?
Potentially. By enhancing the brain's natural response to attraction cues — not just explicit sexual stimuli — kisspeptin could offer a more natural approach to treating low desire compared to existing options. Clinical trials in people with desire disorders are needed to confirm this.
Read More on RethinkPeptides
Cite This Study
https://rethinkpeptides.com/research/RPEP-04729APA
Comninos, Alexander N; Demetriou, Lysia; Wall, Matthew B; Shah, Amar J; Clarke, Sophie A; Narayanaswamy, Shakunthala; Neher, Asija; Dodge, John A; Bloom, Stuart R; Dhillo, Waljit S. (2020). Kisspeptin enhances brain responses to olfactory and visual cues of attraction in men.. JCI insight, 5(3). https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.133633
MLA
Comninos, Alexander N, et al. "Kisspeptin enhances brain responses to olfactory and visual cues of attraction in men.." JCI insight, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.133633
RethinkPeptides
RethinkPeptides Research Database. "Kisspeptin enhances brain responses to olfactory and visual ..." RPEP-04729. Retrieved from https://rethinkpeptides.com/research/comninos-2020-kisspeptin-enhances-brain-responses
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkPeptides research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.