Investigating the Putative Impact of Odors Purported to Have Beneficial Effects on Sleep: Neural and Perceptual Processe
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Investigating the Putative Impact of Odors Purported to Have Beneficial Effects on Sleep: Neural and Perceptual Processes Rochelle Ackerley 1 & Ilona Croy 2 & Håkan Olausson 3 & Gaby Badre 4 Received: 22 November 2018 / Accepted: 21 July 2019 # The Author(s) 2019
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 nonpharmacological alternative approaches. Keywords Smell . Olfaction . Affect . Emotion . Well-being . Sleep
Introduction For a long time, fragranced substances (odors, aromas, scents, perfumes) have been used for mental, psychological, physiological, and even spiritual purposes to address disorders and aide well-being, through aromatherapy. Olfaction is the most basic and evocative of our senses (Herz 2004), where there is a strong association between odor and emotion, and olfaction
* Gaby Badre [email protected] 1
Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LNSC (Laboratoire de Neurosciences Sensorielles et Cognitives - UMR 7260), Marseille, France
2
Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Medical Faculty, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany
3
Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linkoping University, Linkoping, Sweden
4
Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden
can have a profound impact on memories and learning (Wilson 2010; Rihm et al. 2014; Arzi et al. 2014). Further, odors can modify neural processes during sleep (e.g., Perl et al. 2016), which opens up opportunities to affect sleep beneficially through olfaction.
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