Abstract
Odours modify human behaviour. Research in this field develops rapidly, providing more and more exciting discoveries. In this context, our daily odorous environment has been surprisingly poorly explored. The aim of our study was to quantify olfactory perception and preliminarily identify factors affecting the frequency of odorous experiences. We were also interested in knowing whether human olfactory ecology relates with olfactory performance. In this study, patients with olfactory deficits (n = 62) and healthy controls (n = 97) had their olfactory threshold and odour identification abilities measured before and after a two-week intervention comprising counting of conscious perception of odours naturally occurring in the environment. In both groups, we observed enhanced olfactory performance after the intervention suggesting that (1) the conscious focus on odours may change its perception, and that (2) social and physical environment can effectively stimulate the human olfactory system, presumably supporting the improvement of olfactory sensitivity.
Highlights
The “Individual Significance of Olfaction Scale” reflects emotions, memories and impressions related to odours (Association scale), the degree to which olfaction is used on a daily basis (Application scale), and the conclusions drawn from olfactory experience (Consequence scale)[25]
Mindful meditation did not increase odour identification abilities, or individual significance of olfaction, or the number of olfactory perceptions counted after the intervention, subjects declared that they noticed odors more often after mindful meditation
Participants in this study reported from 0 up to 362 olfactory perceptions per day and this number highlights the frequency of olfactory stimulation and its conscious perception
Summary
Mindful meditation did not increase odour identification abilities, or individual significance of olfaction, or the number of olfactory perceptions counted after the intervention, subjects declared that they noticed odors more often after mindful meditation. Environment and interpersonal encounters on the number of odors reported by patient and control groups.
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