| 1. |
- Ackerley, Rochelle, et al.
(författare)
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Investigating the Putative Impact of Odors Purported to Have Beneficial Effects on Sleep: Neural and Perceptual Processes
- 2020
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Ingår i: Chemosensory Perception. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1936-5802 .- 1936-5810. ; 13, s. 93-105
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Olfaction has an important role in physiological and affective processes, as well as the potential to have profound effects on activities such as sleep and learning. We investigated two commercially manufactured odors (“Deep Sleep” and “Oriental,” from This Works) purported to promote sleep, compared with control odor, where we aimed to explore whether neural and behavioral differences existed after odor inhalation. Methods: In a neuroimaging study, 30 healthy participants were exposed to the odors via an olfactometer during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In a further behavioral study using 12 chronic insomniacs, we investigated whether the commercial odors showed effects on sleep during a double-blind, randomized home evaluation. Results: In the neuroimaging, the odors were related to activation of olfactory-relevant areas, such as the orbitofrontal cortex, and we found positive connectivity between the piriform cortex and the hippocampus, amygdala, insula, and middle cingulate cortex. Deep Sleep specifically activated the superior temporal gyrus, whereas Oriental activated the caudate. Further, these commercial odors showed some beneficial impact on sleep. Conclusions: The perceptual and neural impacts of the commercial odors showed that olfactory stimulation can potentially aid sleep and modify affective processes in a number of ways. Implications: The present work opens up opportunities for further investigations into how different odors may lead to specific behavioral and physiological modifications, such as their impact on sleep and well-being, which may provide non-pharmacological alternative approaches.
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| 2. |
- Arshamian, Artin, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
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Sniff Your Way to Clarity : The Case of Olfactory Imagery
- 2008
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Ingår i: CHEMOSENSORY PERCEPTION. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1936-5802 .- 1936-5810. ; 1:4, s. 242-246
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study addressed the effects of blocking spontaneous sniffing during olfactory imagery. A group of subjects (n=40) who scored high in olfactory focus and imagery ability rated the vividness in olfactory and visual imagery content under conditions of blocked sniffing, blocked vision, and a nonblocked control. The imagery stimuli consisted of 90 common words that could represent either an odor or a visual object. Blocked sniffing was expected to impair olfactory imagery vividness, but since visual imagery entails eye movements, which was not affected by the ""blocked vision"" manipulation, visual imagery ratings were effectively used as a placebo control. Confirming our hypotheses, the results showed that preventing sniffing resulted in a selectively poorer olfactory but not visual vividness, whereas blocked vision showed no effect on either the visual or olfactory vividness ratings. These observations confirm that sensorimotor activity is an important aspect for the quality of evoked olfactory images.
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| 3. |
- Berglund, Birgitta, et al.
(författare)
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A bisensory method for odor and irritation detection of formaldehyde and pyridine
- 2012
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Ingår i: CHEMOSENS PERCEPT. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1936-5802 .- 1936-5810. ; 5:2, s. 146-157
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A bisensory method was developed for determining the psychometric functions and absolute thresholds for odor and sensory irritation of two odorous irritants. Individual and group thresholds for formaldehyde or pyridine were measured for 31 age-matched subjects (18-35 years old). P (50) absolute thresholds were for formaldehyde odor 110 ppb (range 23-505), for pyridine odor 77 ppb (range 20-613), and for pyridine irritation 620 ppb (range 90-3,656); too few subjects' formaldehyde irritation thresholds were possible to determine (human exposures limited to 1 ppm). In spite of large interindividual differences, all thresholds for irritation were higher than for odor. The average slopes of the 62 psychometric functions for odor and the 32 possible for sensory irritation were highest for formaldehyde odor (83% per log ppb) and equal for pyridine odor and irritation (68% per log ppb). The bisensory method for measuring odor and sensory irritation jointly produced detection functions and absolute thresholds compatible with those earlier published; however, a steeper slope for sensory irritation than odor was expected for pyridine. The bisensory method is intended for measuring odor and sensory irritation to broadband mixtures and dynamic exposures, like indoor air.
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| 4. |
- Bredie, Wender, et al.
(författare)
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A Comparative Study on Facially Expressed Emotions in Response to Basic Tastes
- 2014
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Ingår i: Chemosensory Preception. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1936-5802 .- 1936-5810. ; 7:1, s. 1-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Facially expressed emotions play a role in communication between individuals. They form another means of expressing oneself besides verbal expressions or self-reporting of feelings and perceptions on psychometric scales and are implicit in nature. This study aimed to evaluate the extent and specificity of evoking facial expressed emotions by basic tastes and to evaluate if facially expressed emotions provide additional information to explicit measures. The emotions were characterised upon tasting the five basic tastes in aqueous solutions at three different concentrations levels. The sensory and emotional responses reported were obtained from a 21-membered taste panel. Facial reactions and facially expressed emotions depended on the tastequality and taste intensity. However, the facially expressed emotions were generally weak even for the relatively strong taste intensities. Bitter (caffeine), sour (citric acid) and salty (sodium chloride) lead to clear disgust and surprise responses, whereas, sweet (sucrose) and umami (glutamic acid monosodium salt) taste gave weakly noticeable facially expressed emotions. Although correlations between the expressed emotions and hedonic responses were observed, the affective experience had a limited predictive ability for the facially expressed emotion at the individual level. In conclusion, psychometric rating of the hedonic response is easier to assess than facially expressed emotions although it may not completely represent the dimensions of the emotional experience.
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| 5. |
- Cain, William S., et al.
(författare)
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Independence of odor Quality and Absolute Sensitivity in a Study of Aging
- 2008
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Ingår i: Chemosensory Perception. - : Springer. - 1936-5802 .- 1936-5810. ; 1, s. 24-33
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Young, middle-aged, and senior subjects performed tasks designed to examine whether odor quality discrimination varies independently of sensitivity. One task entailed detection of 2-heptanone and the others AB-X discrimination of quality for sets of 2-heptanone and homologues or 2-heptanone and non-ketones. Subjects sought to discriminate either at intensity-matched concentrations far above threshold, but fixed across subjects, or at levels adjusted to neutralize differences in sensitivity. The young and middle-aged groups manifested the same absolute sensitivity, but the senior group poorer sensitivity. Performance in quality discrimination, however, declined progressively. Performance lacked an association with absolute sensitivity, no matter how examined. These data, in conjunction with converging findings from patients with neurological damage, studies of brain imaging, and the relation between concentration and quality discrimination in younger persons, suggest largely independent processing of odor quality and intensity.
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| 6. |
- Claeson, Anna-Sara, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Gender differences in nasal chemesthesis : a studyof detection and perceived intensity
- 2011
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Ingår i: Chemosensory Perception. - : Springer. - 1936-5802 .- 1936-5810. ; 4:1/2, s. 25-31
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Women are generally more intolerant than men to ambient substances, for which sensory irritation plays an important role. The aim of the present study was to compare women and men with respect to response bias and sensitivity in irritation detection and to irritation intensity. Twelve women and 12 men were exposed to six concentrations of amyl acetate generated by a dynamic olfactometer. Each concentration was presented eight times in randomized order. Clean-air presentations were interrandomized among the series of amyl acetate stimuli to assess and control for response bias. Ratings of irritation intensity were performed with a Borg CR-100 scale. No gender difference in overall irritation detection sensitivity was found, but a significantly steeper psychometric detection function for women implies keener detectability at relatively high concentrations and poorer detectability at low concentrations. A higher false-alarm rate and higher intensity ratings for blank stimuli for women compared to men did almost reach statistical significance. The data showed no overall gender difference in irritation intensity, but a less steep power function for irritation intensity for women, with relatively weak concentrations being perceived as stronger by women than by men. The results suggest no overall gender difference in irritation detectability, but a larger increase in detectability among women across the stimulus span. The tendency of gender differences in response bias implies differences in strategies when detecting possible health hazards. These strategies together with weak concentrations being perceived as stronger may contribute to women being more intolerant than men to ambient substances.
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| 7. |
- Lindqvist, Anna
(författare)
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Perfume preferences and how they are related to commercial gender classifications of fragrances
- 2012
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Ingår i: Chemosensory perception. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1936-5802 .- 1936-5810. ; 5:2, s. 197-204
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Perfumes are claimed to be an important factor in human social communication. Previous research on perfumes has mainly considered masculinity and femininity as two opposite poles of the same scale, while in this study, 18 naive participants scaled the femininity and masculinity of 12 perfumes as two independent attributes. They also indicated if they wanted to use the perfumes themselves (self-preference), if they wanted their partners to use the perfumes (partner preference), and the perceived pleasantness. It was found that higher scores of pleasantness were assigned to fragrances for daytime wear. Based on the olfactory description of perfumes available on the web (www.fragrantica.com), a method is proposed to predict the perceived femininity. Predicted values were strongly correlated (r = 0.87, p = 0.0002) with femininity ratings obtained from the panel. The results show that self-preference and partner preference were positively correlated with each other (r = 0.84, p < 0.001) and with the pleasantness, indicating that if the participants liked a perfume, they both wanted to use it themselves and wanted their partner to use it. Nonetheless, the observed correlation is influenced by one perfume that was perceived as unpleasant, and further studies will be required to better understand the gender associations of perfumes and their impact on self-preference and partner preference.
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| 8. |
- Nordin, Steven, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of Health-Risk Perception on Odor Perception and Cognitive Performance
- 2013
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Ingår i: Chemosensory Perception. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1936-5802 .- 1936-5810. ; 6:4, s. 190-197
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Indications of adverse effects of nontoxic malodorous chemical exposure on work performance and safety and the role of health-risk perception on odor perception motivated the present study of the impact of health-risk perception on odor perception and cognitive performance. Healthy young adults were informed that they were to be exposed to an odorous substance that is either potentially health-enhancing (positive information bias, n = 24) or hazardous (negative information bias, n = 25). The two groups, screened for loss in odor-detection sensitivity, were matched for age, sex, chemical intolerance, and negative affectivity. During each of 14 trials of exposure to 433 mg/m(3) of n-butanol, the participants rated the intensity and valence of odor perception and performed a cognitive task that taxed working memory and attention. The results showed that the negative-bias group rated the odor perception as more unpleasant than did the positive-bias group during the entire session, but significantly more unpleasant only during the first half of the session. The negative-bias group was also found to perform significantly poorer on the cognitive task during both halves of the session. No effect of information bias was found on perceived odor intensity. The results provide experimental support for the hypotheses that belief that exposure to an odorous chemical is hazardous contributes to the odor perception being more unpleasant and to poorer cognitive performance.
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| 9. |
- Nordin, Steven, et al.
(författare)
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Is loss in odor sensitivity inevitable to the aging individual? : A study of successfully aged elderly
- 2012
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Ingår i: Chemosensory Perception. - New York : Springer Science+Business Media B.V.. - 1936-5802 .- 1936-5810. ; 5:2, s. 188-196
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Previous research suggests that the variability in odor detectability is large in the elderly population. Compared to young adults, most elderly demonstrate poor detectability although some show normal ability. To shed light on why there is this discrepancy among the elderly, absolute detection thresholds for pyridine odor were determined by the method of constant stimuli. Young adults (20-24 years) were compared with elderly (77-87 years) who were successfully aged with respect to medical health and cognitive ability. The results showed that these elderly and young adults had very similar mean detection thresholds for pyridine (105 and 100 ppb, respectively) and psychometric detection functions (identical slopes with increasing pyridine concentration). These results imply that deficits in odor detectability may not be inevitable to the aging individual and that factors secondary to aging, such as poor medical health status and cognitive decline, may contribute to deficits in odor detectability in normal aging.
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| 10. |
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