How scent strengthens the brain: News about essential oils

How scent strengthens the brain: News about essential oils

The most recent research in March 2024 looked at the health benefits of scents and highlighted a particularly interesting aspect: the effect of continuous inhalation of scents, for example by wearing them on clothing, on the structure of the brain. Specifically, the study examined how continuously inhaling a rose scent over a month affects the brain. 50 healthy women were examined, with a group of 28 women wearing the scent and a control group of 22 women not wearing it. The focus was on the change in gray matter volume in the brain, which was measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before and after exposure.

The results were remarkable: the women who wore the scent experienced an increase in gray matter volume throughout the brain and in the posterior cingulate gyrus (PCC) subregion. However, there were no changes in the volume of the amygdala and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). This suggests that continuous scent inhalation may actually have measurable effects on brain structure.

In the future, this discovery could have far-reaching implications for the use of scents in everyday life. For example, consciously choosing the scents we wear or use in our living spaces could become a simple yet effective way to specifically promote brain health. Such findings could also have an impact on therapeutic approaches, for example in the treatment of diseases that are linked to the structure of certain brain regions.

Basic terms

• Essenzielles Öl: Konzentrierte Extrakte aus Pflanzen, die charakteristische Düfte tragen und in der Aromatherapie verwendet werden.
• Graue Substanz: Ein Bereich des Gehirns, der vorwiegend aus den Zellkörpern von Nervenzellen besteht und eine zentrale Rolle bei verschiedenen Gehirnfunktionen spielt.
• Magnetresonanztomografie (MRT): Ein bildgebendes Verfahren, das starke Magnetfelder und Radiowellen nutzt, um detaillierte Bilder des Inneren des Körpers zu erstellen, einschließlich der Struktur des Gehirns.
• Orbitofrontaler Kortex (OFC): Eine Region des Frontallappens des Gehirns, die an der Entscheidungsfindung und bei emotionalen Prozessen beteiligt ist.
• Amygdala: Ein Teil des Gehirns, der hauptsächlich mit der Verarbeitung von Emotionen, insbesondere Angst und Freude, in Verbindung gebracht wird.
• Posteriorer Gyrus cinguli (PCC): Ein Bereich im hinteren Teil des Gehirns, der bei verschiedenen kognitiven Funktionen eine Rolle spielt, einschließlich Aufmerksamkeit und Gedächtnis.

This study opens a new window into understanding how our daily environment – ​​specifically the scents we choose – can influence our brain health and structure. It underlines the importance of further research into these connections and could lead to innovative approaches in the prevention and treatment of neuropsychological disorders in the future.

Change in brain structure through continuous scent inhalation

Research into the health benefits of scents is becoming increasingly important. However, little research has been done to date on the effects of continuous inhalation, for example by wearing scents on clothing, on the brain structure. A recent intervention study addressed this question to examine the effects of continuous inhalation of essential oils on the gray matter of the brain.

The study included 50 healthy female participants, 28 of whom were assigned to the intervention group and 22 to the control group. Participants in the intervention group were asked to wear a specific rose scent on their clothing for a month. To measure the effects on brain structure, changes in participants' brain images captured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before and after the intervention were analyzed.

The results of the study showed an increase in gray matter volume (GMV) throughout the brain as well as in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) subregion. On the other hand, no change in GMV was detected in the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). This suggests that continuous inhalation of scents has a selective effect on certain brain regions and can therefore change the structure of the brain.

This research is the first of its kind to demonstrate that continuous inhalation of scents can cause structural changes in the brain. The implications of these findings could be far-reaching, including potential applications in aromatherapy and other therapeutic areas aimed at modulating brain structure and function.

The study is a significant contribution to the growing research on the interaction between sensory experiences and brain structure and opens the door for further investigations in this fascinating area.

Further details about the study can be found in the original article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38331299.