Abstract
The affective state is the combination of emotion and mood, with mood reflecting a running average of sequential emotional events together with an underlying internal affective state. There is now extensive evidence that odors can overtly or subliminally modulate mood and emotion. Relying primarily on neurobiological literature, here we review what is known about how odors can affect emotions/moods and how emotions/moods may affect odor perception. We take the approach that form can provide insight into function by reviewing major brain regions and neural circuits underlying emotion and mood, and then reviewing the olfactory pathway in the context of that emotion/mood network. We highlight the extensive neuroanatomical opportunities for odor-emotion/mood convergence, as well as functional data demonstrating reciprocal interactions between these processes. Finally, we explore how the odor- emotion/mood interplay is, or could be, used in medical and/or commercial applications.
Highlights
It is commonly held that odors, even when presented without conscious awareness, can modulate emotion and mood (Herz, 2009; Kadohisa, 2013)
Assuming that emotional responses lie along a continuum rather than existing as discrete, labeled-line sensorimotor behaviors (Mendl et al, 2010), it is unlikely that specific brain regions are uniquely and selectively involved in specific emotions (Hamann, 2012; Lindquist et al, 2012)
There is an extensive literature supporting these networks and network components and their role in emotion that will not be fully reviewed here. We present these networks as a basis for our exploration of how odors can influence emotion
Summary
It is commonly held that odors, even when presented without conscious awareness, can modulate emotion and mood (Herz, 2009; Kadohisa, 2013). The terms emotion and mood have overlapping, though distinct, psychological definitions and increasingly are believed to have distinct neurobiological underpinnings. Do odors have a similar impact on both moods and emotions? The focus is not on whether odors can directly evoke emotions or have hedonic valence—they do and this may be a fundamental adaptation of the olfactory system (Herz, 2000; Yeshurun and Sobel, 2010). Rather the focus is on how odors may modulate ongoing emotional or mood states. We explore how the odor-mood/emotion interplay is, or could be, used in commercial and medical applications
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