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Davies-Owen J, Roberts H, Scott M, Thomas A, Sen S, Sethna S, Roberts C, Giesbrecht T, Fallon N. Beauty is in the nose of the beholder: Fragrance modulates attractiveness, confidence and femininity ratings and neural responses to faces of self and others. Behav Brain Res 2024; 465:114932. [PMID: 38437921 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.114932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/06/2024]
Abstract
Previous research investigated cross-modal influence of olfactory stimuli on perception and evaluation of faces. However, little is known about the neural dynamics underpinning this multisensory perception, and no research examined perception for images of oneself, and others, in presence of fragrances. This study investigated the neural mechanisms of olfactory-visual processing using electroencephalography (EEG) and subjective evaluations of self- and other-images. 22 female participants evaluated images of female actors and themselves while being exposed to the fragrance of a commercially available body wash or clean air delivered via olfactometer. Participants rated faces for attractiveness, femininity, confidence and glamorousness on visual analogue scales. EEG data was recorded and event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with onset of face stimuli were analysed to consider effects of fragrance presence on face processing, and interactions between fragrance and self-other image-type. Subjective ratings of confidence, attractiveness and femininity were increased for both image-types in pleasant fragrance relative to clean air condition. ERP components covering early-to-late stages of face processing were modulated by the presence of fragrance. Findings also revealed a cross-modal fragrance-face interaction, with pleasant fragrance particularly affecting ERPs to self-images in mid-latency ERP components. Results showed that the pleasant fragrance of the commercially available body wash impacted how participants perceived faces of self and others. Self- and other-image faces were subjectively rated as more attractive, confident and feminine in the presence of the pleasant fragrance compared to an un-fragranced control. The pleasant fragrance also modulated underlying electrophysiological activity. For the first time, an effect of pleasant fragrance on face perception was observed in the N1 component, suggesting impact within 100 ms. Pleasant fragrance also demonstrated greater impact on subsequent neural processing for self, relative to other-faces. The findings have implications for understanding multisensory integration during evaluations of oneself and others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Davies-Owen
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Population Health, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Hannah Roberts
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Population Health, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Margaret Scott
- Unilever Research & Development, Port Sunlight, United Kingdom
| | - Anna Thomas
- Unilever Research & Development, Port Sunlight, United Kingdom
| | - Soumitra Sen
- Unilever Research & Development, Mumbai UIPL, India
| | | | - Carl Roberts
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Population Health, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Timo Giesbrecht
- Unilever Research & Development, Port Sunlight, United Kingdom
| | - Nicholas Fallon
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Population Health, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
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Zeng S, Zhang L, Li P, Pu D, Fu Y, Zheng R, Xi H, Qiao K, Wang D, Sun B, Sun S, Zhang Y. Molecular mechanisms of caramel-like odorant-olfactory receptor interactions based on a computational chemistry approach. Food Res Int 2023; 171:113063. [PMID: 37330856 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2023.113063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Molecular mechanisms of caramel-like odorant-olfactory receptor interactions were investigated based on molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations. The transmembrane regions TM-3, TM-5 and TM-6 of receptors were main contributors of amino acid residues in the docking. Molecular docking results showed that hydrogen bonding and pi-pi stacking were the key forces for the stabilization of caramel-like odorants. The binding energies were positively correlated with the molecular weight of caramel-like odorants. Residues Asn155 (84%, OR2W1), Asn206 (86%, OR8D1), Ser155 (77%, OR8D1), Asp179 (87%, OR5M3), Val182 (84%, OR2J2) and Tyr260 (94%, OR2J2) with high frequencies played an important role in the complexes formation. Odorants 4-hydroxy-5-methylfuran-3(2H)-one (16#) and methylglyoxal (128#) were screened by molecular field-based similarity analysis, which tended to bind to the receptors OR1G1 and OR52H1 respectively, resulting a caramel-like aroma perception. The obtained results are useful for better understanding the perception of caramel-like odorants and their high-throughput screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shitong Zeng
- Zhengzhou Tobacco Research Institute of CNTC, Zhengzhou 450001, China; Key Laboratory of Flavor Science of China General Chamber of Commerce, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China
| | - Lili Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Flavor Science of China General Chamber of Commerce, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China; Food Laboratory of Zhongyuan, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China
| | - Peng Li
- Zhengzhou Tobacco Research Institute of CNTC, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Dandan Pu
- Key Laboratory of Flavor Science of China General Chamber of Commerce, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China; Food Laboratory of Zhongyuan, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China
| | - Yingjie Fu
- Zhengzhou Tobacco Research Institute of CNTC, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Ruiyi Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Flavor Science of China General Chamber of Commerce, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China; Food Laboratory of Zhongyuan, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China
| | - Hui Xi
- Zhengzhou Tobacco Research Institute of CNTC, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Kaina Qiao
- Key Laboratory of Flavor Science of China General Chamber of Commerce, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China; Food Laboratory of Zhongyuan, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China
| | - Dingzhong Wang
- Zhengzhou Tobacco Research Institute of CNTC, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Baoguo Sun
- Key Laboratory of Flavor Science of China General Chamber of Commerce, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China; Food Laboratory of Zhongyuan, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China
| | - Shihao Sun
- Zhengzhou Tobacco Research Institute of CNTC, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
| | - Yuyu Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Flavor Science of China General Chamber of Commerce, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China; Food Laboratory of Zhongyuan, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China.
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Social Odour Perception and Stress Responses in Women’s Quality of Partner Relationship and Attachment Style. Behav Sci (Basel) 2023; 13:bs13030239. [PMID: 36975264 PMCID: PMC10045887 DOI: 10.3390/bs13030239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The perception of body and social odours (SOP) is crucial for interpersonal chemosensory signalling and mate choice, yet little is known about the role of the SOP on the quality of partnerships and the attachment style. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the SOP in women’s stress responses by considering the role of biopsychosocial variables in the quality of interpersonal relationships (also considering intimate partner violence). In total, 253 women filled out an online survey that included a series of questionnaires to investigate self-perceived stress (PSS), emotional regulation (ERQ), olfactory social assessment (SOS), quality of partnership (RRQ), attachment style (RQ), and the Conflict Tactile Scale 2 (CTS-2). The main results highlight that a high awareness of social odours correlates with a good quality of relationship and with an emotional regulation capacity; the PSS correlates negatively with the ERQ (i.e., as the PSS increases, the ERQ decreases). The level of IPV predicts an interpersonal style characterized by a low desire to develop meaningful relationships but with a tendency to depend on and trust another. The idea of being hurt by the other is not central in women who experience this type of relationship. The study’s main conclusion is that social odour perception is important for emotional regulation and in partner relationships.
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Chen YC, Spence C. Investigating the Crossmodal Influence of Odour on the Visual Perception of Facial Attractiveness and Age. Multisens Res 2022; 35:447-469. [DOI: 10.1163/22134808-bja10076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
We report two experiments designed to investigate whether the presentation of a range of pleasant fragrances, containing both floral and fruity notes, would modulate people’s judgements of the facial attractiveness (Experiment 1) and age (Experiment 2) of a selection of typical female faces varying in age in the range 20–69 years. In Experiment 1, male participants rated the female faces as less attractive when presented with an unpleasant fragrance compared to clean air. The rated attractiveness of the female faces was lower when the participants rated the unpleasant odour as having a lower attractiveness and pleasantness, and a higher intensity. In Experiment 2, both male and female participants rated the age of female faces while presented with one of four pleasant fragrances or clean air as a control. Only the female participants demonstrated a crossmodal effect, with the pleasant fragrances inducing an older rating for female faces in the 40–49-years-old age range, whereas a younger rating was documented for female faces in the 60–69-years-old age range. Taken together, these results are consistent with the view that while the valence of fragrance (pleasant versus unpleasant) exerts a robust crossmodal influence over judgements of facial attractiveness, the effects of pleasant fragrance on judgements of a person’s age appear to be less reliable. One possible explanation for the differing effect of scent in the two cases relates to the fact that attractiveness judgements are more subjective, hedonic, and/or intuitive than age ratings which are more objective, cognitive-mediated, and/or analytic in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Chuan Chen
- Crossmodal Research Laboratory, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, New Radcliffe House, Walton Street, Oxford, OX2 6BW, UK
- Department of Medicine, Mackay Medical College, Sanzhi District, New Taipei City, 252, Taiwan
| | - Charles Spence
- Crossmodal Research Laboratory, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, New Radcliffe House, Walton Street, Oxford, OX2 6BW, UK
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Spence C. The scent of attraction and the smell of success: crossmodal influences on person perception. Cogn Res Princ Implic 2021; 6:46. [PMID: 34173932 PMCID: PMC8233629 DOI: 10.1186/s41235-021-00311-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent decades, there has been an explosion of research into the crossmodal influence of olfactory cues on multisensory person perception. Numerous peer-reviewed studies have documented that a variety of olfactory stimuli, from ambient malodours through to fine fragrances, and even a range of chemosensory body odours can influence everything from a perceiver's judgments of another person's attractiveness, age, affect, health/disease status, and even elements of their personality. The crossmodal and multisensory contributions to such effects are reviewed and the limitations/peculiarities of the research that have been published to date are highlighted. At the same time, however, it is important to note that the presence of scent (and/or the absence of malodour) can also influence people's (i.e., a perceiver's) self-confidence which may, in turn, affect how attractive they appear to others. Several potential cognitive mechanisms have been put forward to try and explain such crossmodal/multisensory influences, and some of the neural substrates underpinning these effects have now been characterized. At the end of this narrative review, a number of the potential (and actual) applications for, and implications of, such crossmodal/multisensory phenomena involving olfaction are outlined briefly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Spence
- Crossmodal Research Laboratory, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Anna Watts Building, Oxford, OX2 6BW, UK.
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