| Popis: |
Background: Olfactory sensation is closely linked to the autonomic nervous system. In recentyears, stimulation of olfactory sensation through aroma therapy is widely used for preventionof dementia and alleviation of physical/mental strain in the medical care. However, theefficacy of the aroma therapy has been evaluated subjectively with lack of well-definedobjective methodologies. In this study, focusing on the gender differences among young adults,we evaluated physiological responses induced by focused exposure to a variety of aromascents.Methods: Twelve healthy young adults (6 males, 6 females) were enrolled. By use ofstereotactic device, Aroma Shooter®, five typical scents were accurately shot intermittently.Physiological responses were measured as (1) frequency characteristics of autonomic nerve(high and low frequencies: HF, LF) by use of a cardiac monitor, and (2) regional saturation ofoxygen (rSO₂) at frontal cortex by use of cerebral oximeter monitoring system, INVOS-5100C,attached to the forehead.Results and Discussion: Although the scent of coffee has been reported to stimulatesympathetic tone (LF/HF), our results showed that, in contrast to males, it rather stimulatedparasympathetic tone (HF) in females (P=0.009). Whereas, the scent of peppermint isgenerally known to stimulate sympathetic tone. We confirmed it in males, but the effect wasweak in females (P=0.310). Similarly, in cypress, it acts on the sympathetic nerve in males,but not in females. No change in the forehead rSO2 of the brain with respect to aroma wasdetected, and its usefulness for determining the effect of each aroma was not recognized. However, the gender difference was clearly significantly higher in males. In addition, bothmales and females tended to gradually decline over time, and the effect was greater forfemales than for males.Conclusion: Changes in autonomic nervous tone after exposure to aroma scents tend to differbetween-sexes from one aroma to another. |
