Hedonic Olfactory Perception in Depression: Relationship between Self-Evaluation and Autonomic Response

Atanasova, Boriana; Gaillard, Philippe; Minier, Frédéric; Belzung, Catherine; El‐Hage, Wissam

doi:10.4236/psych.2012.311144

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Concerning odor hedonic perception, only two studies have shown unchanged scores between depressed patients and healthy controls [ 89 ] before or after antidepressant treatment [ 92 ]. For the majority of the investigations, this parameter is influenced by depressive state [ 46 , 47 , 85 , 86 , 95 , 101 ]. Atanasova et al [ 95 ] showed that depressed patients would perceive unpleasant odors as more unpleasant (negative olfactory alliesthesia), while pleasant odorants would be perceived as less pleasant (olfactory anhedonia) in comparison to controls.…”

Section: What Is the Link Between Olfaction And Depression?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Depression, Olfaction, and Quality of Life: A Mutual Relationship

et al. 2018

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Olfactory dysfunction has been well studied in depression. Common brain areas are involved in depression and in the olfactory process, suggesting that olfactory impairments may constitute potential markers of this disorder. Olfactory markers of depression can be either state (present only in symptomatic phases) or trait (persistent after symptomatic remission) markers. This study presents the etiology of depression, the anatomical links between olfaction and depression, and a literature review of different olfactory markers of depression. Several studies have also shown that olfactory impairment affects the quality of life and that olfactory disorders can affect daily life and may be lead to depression. Thus, this study discusses the links between olfactory processing, depression, and quality of life. Finally, olfaction is an innovative research field that may constitute a new therapeutic tool for the treatment of depression.

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Section: What Is the Link Between Olfaction And Depression?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Depression, Olfaction, and Quality of Life: A Mutual Relationship

et al. 2018

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“…Dysfunctions in the prefrontal cortex, as related to depression, are thus hypothesized to have a direct impact on pleasantness ratings. To date, most sensory studies of MDD patients suggest that depressed www.nature.com/scientificreports/ patients perceive "unpleasant" odours to be significantly worse than healthy controls 45 . However, research using "pleasant" odours has produced mixed results, with some observing differences between depressed and healthy individuals 45 , but others detecting no such differences 17 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To date, most sensory studies of MDD patients suggest that depressed www.nature.com/scientificreports/ patients perceive "unpleasant" odours to be significantly worse than healthy controls 45 . However, research using "pleasant" odours has produced mixed results, with some observing differences between depressed and healthy individuals 45 , but others detecting no such differences 17 . These inconsistent results may be attributable to the use of different testing odorants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Olfactory shifts linked to postpartum depression

Peng

Potterton

Chu

et al. 2021

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Postpartum Depression (PPD) is the most common non-obstetric complications associated with childbearing, but currently has poor diagnostic regimes. Sensory symptoms of PPD are understudied, particularly with regard to the sense of olfaction. The present study addresses this research gap by assessing differences in olfactory abilities between 39 depressed mothers, who were within the perinatal period (i.e., during pregnancy and up to 1-year post pregnancy) and assessed with Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and their case-matched healthy volunteers. The assessments include two olfactory testing sessions conducted 4-weeks apart, each comprising a standard odour detection threshold test (i.e., Snap & Sniff Olfactory Test System), and intensity and valence ratings for 3 “pleasant” and 3 “unpleasant” odorants. The results revealed no difference between patients (M = 5.6; SE = 0.3) and control group (M = 5.7; SE = 0.4) in terms of olfactory detection threshold. However, the patients group perceived the 3 “unpleasant” odours as significantly less pleasant (p < 0.05), and 2 odorants (1 “pleasant” and 1 “unpleasant”) as less intense. Additionally, these results did not appear to be significantly interacted with the individual’s perinatal stage. The present study is the first to evaluate associations between olfactory function and PPD. Findings from the study suggest that, while PPD has little effect on the early stages of olfactory processing, these conditions may have stronger influence on higher-order olfactory perception, including both hedonic and intensity perception. These novel findings add knowledge to sensory symptoms of PPD.

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“…The majority of olfactory studies and mood disorders have focused on the perception of single odorants. To date, only a few studies have investigated olfactory perception in major depression using odor mixtures ( Atanasova et al, 2010 ; Atanasova, 2012 ; Naudin et al, 2012 ). However, studies using odor mixtures are of specific interest because complex olfactory stimuli reflect daily life situations, which is important in the study of anhedonia (failure to gain pleasure from normal pleasant experiences).…”

Section: Implications Of Odor Mixtures Processing In Individuals Withmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Anhedonia is considered as a core symptom of major depression in an objective way. Using binary mixtures of both pleasant (vanillin) and unpleasant (butyric acid) odorants at three different iso-intense concentrations, it has been shown that depressed patients perceived the majority of odor mixtures (67%) as significantly less pleasant compared to healthy subjects ( Atanasova et al, 2010 ; Atanasova, 2012 ). Depressed subjects also had low performance in correctly identifying the odor of the odorants within the binary iso-intense mixture, and they more readily perceived the unpleasant compound compared to control subjects.…”

Section: Implications Of Odor Mixtures Processing In Individuals Withmentioning

confidence: 99%

The perception of odor objects in everyday life: a review on the processing of odor mixtures

et al. 2014

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Smelling monomolecular odors hardly ever occurs in everyday life, and the daily functioning of the sense of smell relies primarily on the processing of complex mixtures of volatiles that are present in the environment (e.g., emanating from food or conspecifics). Such processing allows for the instantaneous recognition and categorization of smells and also for the discrimination of odors among others to extract relevant information and to adapt efficiently in different contexts. The neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning this highly efficient analysis of complex mixtures of odorants is beginning to be unraveled and support the idea that olfaction, as vision and audition, relies on odor-objects encoding. This configural processing of odor mixtures, which is empirically subject to important applications in our societies (e.g., the art of perfumers, flavorists, and wine makers), has been scientifically studied only during the last decades. This processing depends on many individual factors, among which are the developmental stage, lifestyle, physiological and mood state, and cognitive skills; this processing also presents striking similarities between species. The present review gathers the recent findings, as observed in animals, healthy subjects, and/or individuals with affective disorders, supporting the perception of complex odor stimuli as odor objects. It also discusses peripheral to central processing, and cognitive and behavioral significance. Finally, this review highlights that the study of odor mixtures is an original window allowing for the investigation of daily olfaction and emphasizes the need for knowledge about the underlying biological processes, which appear to be crucial for our representation and adaptation to the chemical environment.

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Hedonic Olfactory Perception in Depression: Relationship between Self-Evaluation and Autonomic Response

Cited by 7 publications

References 34 publications

Depression, Olfaction, and Quality of Life: A Mutual Relationship

Depression, Olfaction, and Quality of Life: A Mutual Relationship

Olfactory shifts linked to postpartum depression

The perception of odor objects in everyday life: a review on the processing of odor mixtures

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