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Effects of ambient odors on reaction time in humans
Jean-Louis Millot1, Gérard Brand, Nadège Morand
1Laboratoire de Neurosciences, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, France. jean-louis.millot@univ-fcomte.fr
Abstract:
The perception of odors is well identified as having strong emotional correlates. The effects of ambient odors on arousal level and task performance have also been suspected but remain poorly assessed in the literature. The present study compared the reaction times of subjects between ambient odor conditions (pleasant and unpleasant) and a no-odor condition. The results showed that the reaction time in simple tasks (responses to visual or auditory stimulation) significantly decreased in the ambient odor conditions (whatever the pleasantness of the odors) compared with the no-odor condition. These results underline the importance of the olfactory environment in human behavior.