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| 2. |
- Lindroos, Robert, 1980-, et al.
(författare)
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Perceptual odor qualities predict successful odor identification in old age
- 2022
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Ingår i: Chemical Senses. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0379-864X .- 1464-3553. ; 47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Odor identification is a common assessment of olfaction, and it is affected in a large number of diseases. Identification abilities decline with age, but little is known about whether there are perceptual odor features that can be used to predict identification. Here, we analyzed data from a large, population-based sample of 2,479 adults, aged 60 years or above, from the Swedish National study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen. Participants performed both free and cued odor identification tests. In a separate experiment, we assessed perceived pleasantness, familiarity, intensity, and edibility of all odors in the first sample, and examined how odor identification performance is associated with these variables. The analysis showed that high-intensity odors are easier to identify than low-intensity odors overall, but also that they are more susceptible to the negative repercussions of old age. This result indicates that sensory decline is a major aspect of age-dependent odor identification impairment, and suggests a framework where identification likelihood is proportional to the perceived intensity of the odor. Additional analyses further showed that high-performing individuals can discriminate target odors from distractors along the pleasantness and edibility dimensions and that unpleasant and inedible odors show smaller age-related differences in identification. Altogether, these results may guide further development and optimization of brief and efficient odor identification tests as well as influence the design of odorous products targeted toward older consumers.
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| 3. |
- Olofsson, Jonas K., et al.
(författare)
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Olfactory Language : Context Is Everything
- 2021
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Ingår i: Trends in cognitive sciences. - : Elsevier. - 1364-6613 .- 1879-307X. ; 25:6, s. 419-420
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The sense of smell, olfaction, is currently in the spotlight. Although often a neglected sense, smell loss and smell distortions due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has increased public awareness of olfaction and its role in health, well-being, and nutrition. In this unusual context, Majid provides a timely, well written, and thought-provoking review of olfaction and its cognitive aspects. Majid focuses on how smells are expressed in languages around the world, yet the review covers a vast literature that includes also experimental, cognitive, and biological fields. The thrust of the argument is directed against a perceived dogma; that ‘there is no language of smell and humans are bad at naming odors’. Majid argues that this dogma is refuted by cross-cultural research and concludes that ‘rather than focusing on constrained experimental tasks’, olfactory language should be studied in terms of ‘how people across the globe use, manipulate and talk about odors in their day-to-day contexts’. Later, we show how empirical and theoretical considerations lead us to partly different conclusions. Empirically, we believe that odor naming remains poorer than naming in other senses and that careful laboratory experiments will remain critical for understanding olfactory-based language and cognition. Toward this goal, we emphasize the distinction between multisensory and unisensory olfaction, which is not highlighted in Majid's review but which we believe is of theoretical importance.
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| 4. |
- Vieira, Joana B., et al.
(författare)
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Acute anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with higher levels of everyday altruism
- 2022
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Prior laboratory research has suggested that humans may become more prosocial in stressful or threatening situations, but it is unknown whether the link between prosociality and defense generalizes to real-life. Here, we examined the association between defensive responses to a real-world threat (the COVID-19 pandemic) and everyday altruism. Four independent samples of 150 (N = 600) US residents were recruited online at 4 different timepoints, and self-report measures of perceived COVID-19 threat, defensive emotions (e.g., stress and anxiety), and everyday altruism were collected. Our operationalization of defensive emotions was inspired by the threat imminence framework, an ecological model of how humans and animals respond to varying levels of threat. We found that perceived COVID-19 threat was associated with higher levels of everyday altruism (assessed by the Self-report Altruism scale). Importantly, there was a robust association between experiencing acute anxiety and high physiological arousal during the pandemic (responses typically characteristic of higher perceived threat imminence), and propensity to engage in everyday altruism. Non-significant or negative associations were found with less acute defensive responses like stress. These findings support a real-life relation between defensive and altruistic motivation in humans, which may be modulated by perceived threat imminence.
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| 5. |
- Wiens, Stefan, et al.
(författare)
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Electrophysiological correlates of in vivo and virtual reality exposure therapy in spider phobia
- 2022
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Ingår i: Psychophysiology. - : Wiley. - 0048-5772 .- 1469-8986. ; 59:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Specific phobia can be treated successfully with exposure therapy. Although exposure therapy has strong effects on self-reported ratings and behavioral avoidance, effects on measures derived from electroencephalography (EEG) are scant and unclear. To fill this gap, spider-phobic individuals received either in-vivo or virtual reality exposure treatment. Patients were tested twice (one week before and after treatment), and control subjects once. In each session, EEG was recorded to spider pictures as well as other positive, negative, and neutral pictures. During EEG recording, participants performed a simple detection task while task-irrelevant pictures were shown in the background. The task was used to reduce potential confounding effects from shifts of attention. After the task, subjects were shown the pictures again and rated each in terms of their emotional reaction (arousal and pleasantness). The results showed that before treatment, patients rated spiders as more negative than did control subjects. Patients also showed elevated early posterior negativity (EPN) and late positive potential (LPP) to spiders. After treatment, the negative emotional ratings of spiders were substantially reduced. Critically, Bayesian analyses suggested that EPN and LPP were unaffected by treatment and that the treatment groups did not differ in their responses (EPN, LPP, and ratings). These findings suggest that the effects of in vivo and virtual reality exposure therapy are similar and that the initial stages of motivated attention (EPN and LPP) are unaffected by treatment.
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