A time series analysis to investigate the effect of inhalation of aldehyde C10 on the human EEG activity

Abstract

IntroductionDecanal (C10) is an important aldehyde, extensively used to enhance floral and citrus notes in various perfumery products. It is well-known that the human electroencephalographic (EEG) activity is highly susceptible to change due to the exposure of fragrances. However, the EEG findings exhibit non-stationary behavior in terms of analysis and recording time. Hence, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of inhalation of aldehyde C10 on the human EEG activity with respect to time series analysis. MethodsTwenty healthy volunteers (10 men and 10 women) participated in the EEG study. The EEG data were recorded from 8 channels according to the International 10–20 System. The EEG readings were analyzed for every second by splitting the total 30 s data during the no odor and C10 odor exposures. ResultsThe exposure of C10 odor produced significant changes (p < 0.05) in all the absolute waves at a certain time during the time series analysis. The results revealed that all absolute waves significantly decreased during the first 13 s period of time due to the exposure of C10 odor. After that, absolute alpha, absolute slow alpha, and absolute fast alpha markedly increased. Furthermore, the exposure to C10 appears to mainly affect the frontal regions, especially the left frontal region (F3) compared with other regions. ConclusionOur data suggest that the EEG activity of C10 odor is highly unstable in the time series analysis, thereby analysis time could play a key role in the EEG response to olfactory stimulation.