Time-Dependent Analysis of Human Neurophysiological Activities during an Ecological Olfactory Experience
It has been demonstrated that odors could affect humans at the psychophysiological level. Significant research has been done on odor perception and physiological mechanisms; however, this research was mainly performed in highly controlled conditions in order to highlight the perceptive phenomena and...
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| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Brain Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/9/1242 |
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| author | Alessia Vozzi Ana Martinez Levy Vincenzo Ronca Andrea Giorgi Silvia Ferrara Marco Mancini Rossella Capotorto Patrizia Cherubino Arianna Trettel Fabio Babiloni Gianluca Di Flumeri |
| author_facet | Alessia Vozzi Ana Martinez Levy Vincenzo Ronca Andrea Giorgi Silvia Ferrara Marco Mancini Rossella Capotorto Patrizia Cherubino Arianna Trettel Fabio Babiloni Gianluca Di Flumeri |
| author_sort | Alessia Vozzi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It has been demonstrated that odors could affect humans at the psychophysiological level. Significant research has been done on odor perception and physiological mechanisms; however, this research was mainly performed in highly controlled conditions in order to highlight the perceptive phenomena and the correlated physiological responses in the time frame of milliseconds. The present study explored how human physiological activity evolves in response to different odor conditions during an ecological olfactory experience on a broader time scale (from 1 to 90 s). Two odors, vanilla and menthol, together with a control condition (blank) were employed as stimuli. Electroencephalographic (EEG) activity in four frequency bands of interest, theta, alpha, low beta, and high beta, and the electrodermal activity (EDA) of the skin conductance level and response (SCL and SCR) were investigated at five time points taken during: (i) the first ten seconds of exposure (short-term analysis) and (ii) throughout the entire exposure to each odor (90 s, long-term analysis). The results revealed significant interactions between the odor conditions and the time periods in the short-term analysis for the overall frontal activity in the theta (<i>p</i> = 0.03), alpha (<i>p</i> = 0.005), and low beta (<i>p</i> = 0.0067) bands, the frontal midline activity in the alpha (<i>p</i> = 0.015) and low beta (<i>p</i> = 0.02) bands, and the SCR component (<i>p</i> = 0.024). For the long-term effects, instead, only one EEG parameter, frontal alpha asymmetry, was significantly sensitive to the considered dimensions (<i>p</i> = 0.037). In conclusion, the present research determined the physiological response to different odor conditions, also demonstrating the sensitivity of the employed parameters in characterizing the dynamic of such response during the time. As an exploratory study, this work points out the relevance of considering the effects of continuous exposure instead of short stimulation when evaluating the human olfactory experience, providing insights for future studies in the field. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:59:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-252138ea6e024a0aa8b344b602aff5b3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:59:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-252138ea6e024a0aa8b344b602aff5b32023-11-19T09:48:14ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252023-08-01139124210.3390/brainsci13091242Time-Dependent Analysis of Human Neurophysiological Activities during an Ecological Olfactory ExperienceAlessia Vozzi0Ana Martinez Levy1Vincenzo Ronca2Andrea Giorgi3Silvia Ferrara4Marco Mancini5Rossella Capotorto6Patrizia Cherubino7Arianna Trettel8Fabio Babiloni9Gianluca Di Flumeri10Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic & Orthopedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyBrainSigns Srl, Via Tirso, 14, 00198 Rome, ItalyBrainSigns Srl, Via Tirso, 14, 00198 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic & Orthopedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyBrainSigns Srl, Via Tirso, 14, 00198 Rome, ItalyBrainSigns Srl, Via Tirso, 14, 00198 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyBrainSigns Srl, Via Tirso, 14, 00198 Rome, ItalyBrainSigns Srl, Via Tirso, 14, 00198 Rome, ItalyBrainSigns Srl, Via Tirso, 14, 00198 Rome, ItalyBrainSigns Srl, Via Tirso, 14, 00198 Rome, ItalyIt has been demonstrated that odors could affect humans at the psychophysiological level. Significant research has been done on odor perception and physiological mechanisms; however, this research was mainly performed in highly controlled conditions in order to highlight the perceptive phenomena and the correlated physiological responses in the time frame of milliseconds. The present study explored how human physiological activity evolves in response to different odor conditions during an ecological olfactory experience on a broader time scale (from 1 to 90 s). Two odors, vanilla and menthol, together with a control condition (blank) were employed as stimuli. Electroencephalographic (EEG) activity in four frequency bands of interest, theta, alpha, low beta, and high beta, and the electrodermal activity (EDA) of the skin conductance level and response (SCL and SCR) were investigated at five time points taken during: (i) the first ten seconds of exposure (short-term analysis) and (ii) throughout the entire exposure to each odor (90 s, long-term analysis). The results revealed significant interactions between the odor conditions and the time periods in the short-term analysis for the overall frontal activity in the theta (<i>p</i> = 0.03), alpha (<i>p</i> = 0.005), and low beta (<i>p</i> = 0.0067) bands, the frontal midline activity in the alpha (<i>p</i> = 0.015) and low beta (<i>p</i> = 0.02) bands, and the SCR component (<i>p</i> = 0.024). For the long-term effects, instead, only one EEG parameter, frontal alpha asymmetry, was significantly sensitive to the considered dimensions (<i>p</i> = 0.037). In conclusion, the present research determined the physiological response to different odor conditions, also demonstrating the sensitivity of the employed parameters in characterizing the dynamic of such response during the time. As an exploratory study, this work points out the relevance of considering the effects of continuous exposure instead of short stimulation when evaluating the human olfactory experience, providing insights for future studies in the field.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/9/1242EEGEDAolfactory stimulationsignal processingphysiological signals |
| spellingShingle | Alessia Vozzi Ana Martinez Levy Vincenzo Ronca Andrea Giorgi Silvia Ferrara Marco Mancini Rossella Capotorto Patrizia Cherubino Arianna Trettel Fabio Babiloni Gianluca Di Flumeri Time-Dependent Analysis of Human Neurophysiological Activities during an Ecological Olfactory Experience Brain Sciences EEG EDA olfactory stimulation signal processing physiological signals |
| title | Time-Dependent Analysis of Human Neurophysiological Activities during an Ecological Olfactory Experience |
| title_full | Time-Dependent Analysis of Human Neurophysiological Activities during an Ecological Olfactory Experience |
| title_fullStr | Time-Dependent Analysis of Human Neurophysiological Activities during an Ecological Olfactory Experience |
| title_full_unstemmed | Time-Dependent Analysis of Human Neurophysiological Activities during an Ecological Olfactory Experience |
| title_short | Time-Dependent Analysis of Human Neurophysiological Activities during an Ecological Olfactory Experience |
| title_sort | time dependent analysis of human neurophysiological activities during an ecological olfactory experience |
| topic | EEG EDA olfactory stimulation signal processing physiological signals |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/9/1242 |
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