Differences in the central-nervous processing of olfactory stimuli according to their hedonic and arousal characteristics.

Sorokowska, A; Negoias, Simona; Härtwig, S; Gerber, J; Iannilli, E; Warr, J; Hummel, T (2016). Differences in the central-nervous processing of olfactory stimuli according to their hedonic and arousal characteristics. Neuroscience, 324, pp. 62-68. Elsevier 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.03.008

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Given the strong relationship between human olfaction and emotion, it is not surprising that numerous studies have investigated human response to hedonic and arousing qualities of odors. However, neuropsychological research addressed rather the pleasant-unpleasant, and not the arousing-calming dimension of emotional states generated by odorants. The purpose of the presented fMRI study was to evaluate the differences in cerebral processing of olfactory stimuli, focusing on both of these dimensions of emotional experiences, i.e., pleasantness and arousal. We investigated the patterns of activation generated by odors differing in hedonic tone and generated arousal while controlling the stimuli intensity. This design allowed for a new insight to the emotional odor processing with imaging techniques. The pleasantness was related to activation in the cingulate gyrus, the insula, the hippocampal area, the amygdala, and the superior temporal gyrus, whereas arousal affected activation in the thalamic relay. The present study showed also that the emotional states generated by arousing qualities of odorants are an important determinant of magnitude of cerebral activation.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Head Organs and Neurology (DKNS) > Clinic of Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders (ENT)

UniBE Contributor:

Negoias, Simona Nicoleta

Subjects:

600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health

ISSN:

0306-4522

Publisher:

Elsevier

Language:

English

Submitter:

Stefan Weder

Date Deposited:

23 May 2017 14:29

Last Modified:

02 Mar 2023 23:29

Publisher DOI:

10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.03.008

PubMed ID:

26968764

Uncontrolled Keywords:

arousal; fMRI; intensity; olfaction; pleasantness; smell

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.95659

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/95659

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