Physiologocal and Psychological Effects of Fragrances

An attempt has been made to measure the effects of a fragrance on the extremities of the human body by using a single square voltage pulse (SSVP) method. Estimation of whether the fragrance induced alertness or calming down was made based on changes in parameters related to autonomic nervous system and blood flow. Peppermint and jasmine tended to induced alertness, whereas lavender and lemon induced pacification and rose worked in either way. But the results were rather diffuse compared to the effects of audiovisual stimuli measured by SSVP in the previous study. This seemed to be due to variations of susceptibility to fragrances for individuals and psychological influence of fragrance which complicated the appearance of changes on the body extremities. However, there were some subjects with high susceptibility to fragrance whose reactions to the fragrance coincided perfectly well with that reported by CNV brain wave measurements.