People Who Are More Anxious And Neurotic Are Better At Telling Different Smells Apart
Have you ever been super nervous or anxious for something and realized that, while you were in this state of neurosis, you tended to have a better sense of smell? Studies suggest that there is a correlation between anxiety levels and olfactory perception.
A study conducted by Elizabeth Krusemark and Wen Li, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, hypothesized that anxious people tended to have a more heightened sense of smell in regards to smelling a threat as they were in a heightened state of focus. This hypothesis is derived from the knowledge that animals, specifically prey, demonstrate better senses of smell in potentially dangerous situations (Reichert, 2012). In the study conducted by Krusemark and Li, 14 male participants were exposed to different types of smells: neutral pure odor, neutral odor mixture, and negative odor mixture. Participants were then asked to identify when they detected an odor, and what type of odor they detected, while researchers monitored participant anxiety levels using an MRI. After the smell test was complete, and while still hooked up to the MRI, participants were asked to rate their level of anxiety.
Researchers found that participants who rated their anxiety as being higher were better able to discriminate between negative odors and the others presented. Furthermore, higher levels of anxiety presented higher emotional arousal; despite this, researchers were unable to identify why this was the case. One possible explanation is that it is a left over evolutionary instinct, which once served to identify potential threats. .
-Cassey
Edited by Tatum Wilson
SOURCES
Graber, Cynthia. (2012). Anxiety Boosts Threat Odor Perception. Scientific American. http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/anxiety-boosts-threat-odor-percepti-12-04-12/
Reichert, Jenina. (2012). Anxiety Boosts Sense of Smell. Springer. http://www.springer.com/about+springer/media/springer+select?SGWID=0-11001-6-1368621-0
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). (2014). Humans Can Distinguish At Least One Trillion Different Odors. Science Daily.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140320140738.htm
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