| Title |
Subconscious olfactory influences of stimulant and relaxant odors on immune function
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, December 2011
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00405-011-1876-4 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Sokratis Trellakis, Cornelia Fischer, Alena Rydleuskaya, Sefik Tagay, Kirsten Bruderek, Jens Greve, Stephan Lang, Sven Brandau |
| Abstract |
Brain and immune system are linked by bidirectional pathways so that changes of the central nervous system may influence various immune functions. The olfactory system may be involved in this interaction. In most odor studies subjects are aware of an odor exposure, using frequently high odor concentrations or long-term exposures without controls. In this pilot study, the potential immune effects of short-term odor exposure were examined in 32 blinded subjects (16 male, 16 female). Subjects were exposed without their knowledge either to a stimulant essential oil (grapefruit, fennel, pepper), a no-odor control or a relaxant essential oil (lavender, patchouli, rose) during a set of psychological questionnaires for 30 min at three separate visits. Activity of neutrophil granulocytes (CXCL8 release, CD16) and peripheral blood concentrations of mainly neutrophil-related immunological markers were measured. We tested the triple of stimulant odor, control and relaxant odor for every subject in a model which assumed opposite effects of the stimulant and the relaxant odor. This hypothesis was falsified by our experimental data, as no significant effect was observed for the parameters tested. The human immune functions tested in our study are not modulated by short-term odor exposure in blinded subjects. Further studies should directly dissect possible differences between long-term and short-term exposures of non-blinded subjects versus blinded subjects. |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 28 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 28 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 8 | 29% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 4 | 14% |
| Student > Bachelor | 3 | 11% |
| Professor > Associate Professor | 3 | 11% |
| Student > Master | 3 | 11% |
| Other | 4 | 14% |
| Unknown | 3 | 11% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 8 | 29% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 7 | 25% |
| Chemical Engineering | 1 | 4% |
| Business, Management and Accounting | 1 | 4% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 1 | 4% |
| Other | 5 | 18% |
| Unknown | 5 | 18% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 15 December 2011.
All research outputs
#15,239,825
of 22,659,164 outputs
Outputs from European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology
#1,172
of 3,032 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#163,367
of 242,398 outputs
Outputs of similar age from European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology
#12
of 27 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,659,164 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 22nd percentile – i.e., 22% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,032 research outputs from this source. They receive a mean Attention Score of 3.1. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 51% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 242,398 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 21st percentile – i.e., 21% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 27 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 33rd percentile – i.e., 33% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.