Experiences of living without a sense of smell: Like "Being Behind Glass".

This study addresses the paucity of research concerning the subjective experiences of those affected by anosmia. In the study, we interviewed individuals(n = 11) recruited via the charity (Fifth Sense) and used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to analyse the data. Findings revealed three main themes and seven sub themes. The main themes are Living with Anosmia; Remembrance of things old and new and Resilience. The study reveals the process of becoming aware of being anosmic and the relationships with others in this process including potentially unhelpful minimisations of the impact by professionals. In addition to a sense of isolation and insecurity, living with anosmia for some participants brought with it an identification of being 'anosmic' and feeling part of a community. This was in contrast to a general lack of public knowledge and understanding of anosmia. The findings of the study demonstrated the importance of smell to time, place and relationship and the recalling of smells as bringing a sense of connectivity to loved ones, of times past and also a sense of loss of ability. Participants also described the ways in which they coped and adapted to a life with anosmia and focused on positive aspects of life. These findings provide a rich qualitative account of the experience of anosmia. The findings point towards future research which could inform us about the lives of those who are anosmic and currently unaware and of those recently diagnosed, which will create a richer understanding of the experiences of anosmia.

Mediated and moderated associations between cumulative lifetime stressor exposure, emotional dysregulation, impulsivity, and lifetime alcohol use: A cross-sectional scoping study of UK drinkers.

Stress, trait impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation are independent predictors of alcohol use and misuse, but little is known about the potential mechanisms that link these risk factors together. To address this issue, we carried out an exploratory cross-sectional study, on UK-based participants. Our preregistered, hypothesised theoretical framework was that emotional dysregulation mediates the association between cumulative lifetime stressor exposure and lifetime alcohol use. We also hypothesised that heightened impulsivity would strengthen these relations. As hypothesised, emotional dysregulation fully mediated the relation between cumulative lifetime stressor exposure and lifetime alcohol use. Several facets of impulsivity moderated these associations. For example, as levels of negative urgency increased, the associations between cumulative lifetime stressor exposure and emotional dysregulation, emotional dysregulation and lifetime alcohol use, and lifetime stress exposure and lifetime alcohol use, via emotional dysregulation, strengthened. These preliminary findings propose a theoretically framed model which integrates several prominent risk-factors for alcohol misuse, extending prior research and generating interesting and novel lines of enquiry for longitudinal and cross-cultural analyses. The findings also highlight the potential clinical utility of screening for lifetime stress exposure while tailoring personalised treatment interventions.

Establishing UK research priorities in smell and taste disorders: A James Lind alliance priority setting partnership.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the top 10 research priorities in Smell and Taste Disorders (SATD). DESIGN: After steering group was established, an electronic survey was disseminated to determine the list of questions. After removing out-of-scope responses, the remainder were consolidated to create summary questions. A literature search was conducted to remove already answered questions. A second survey was used to determine the top questions that formed the subject of final debate at a workshop attended by clinicians and patients to determine the top 10 priorities. SETTING: A James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership (JLAPSP) was established by FifthSense to identify the top 10 research questions in SATDs in the United Kingdom. PARTICIPANT: All stakeholders in SATDs (patients, healthcare professionals, family, carers, researchers). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Final 10 research priorities. RESULTS: The 665 respondents to the initial survey provided 1698 research questions. Thirteen were out-of-scope and removed; remaining 1685 were then consolidated to form 147 summary questions. Following literature search and discussion with the steering group, 37 questions remained for the second survey, which 235 people responded. The top ten priorities agreed upon in the workshop covered themes of improved understanding of pathophysiologlogy, improving health services, and managing long-term effects of smell/taste disorders. The most important research question agreed was "How can we further our understanding of the mechanism of disease in the nerve pathways that affect smell and taste disorders, including where parosmia and phantosmia exist." CONCLUSION: We report the top 10 research priorities in smell and taste disorders. These priorities will now empower researchers to secure research funding and provide the basis of the FifthSense research hub.

Associations Between Self-reported Inhibitory Control, Stress, and Alcohol (Mis)use During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the UK: a National Cross-sectional Study Utilising Data From Four Birth Cohorts.

We explored (1) self-reported changes in alcohol use during the pandemic in the UK and (2) the extent to which self-reported inhibitory control and/or stress were associated with any change in drinking behaviour. We used a UK-based cross-sectional online survey administered to four nationally representative birth cohorts (N = 13,453). A significant minority of 30- (29.08%) and 50-year-olds (26.67%) reported drinking more, and between 32.23 and 45.02% of respondents reported feeling more stressed depending on the cohort. Stress was associated with hazardous drinking among 30-year-olds (OR = 3.77, 95% CI 1.15 to 12.28). Impatience was associated with both increased alcohol use (1.14, 95% CI 1.06, 1.24) and hazardous drinking (1.20, 95% CI 1.05, 1.38) among 19-year-olds. Risk-taking was associated with hazardous drinking for 30-year-olds (OR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.05, 1.32). These data highlight concerns for those at risk of alcohol misuse and alcohol-related harm during COVID-19 lockdowns. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11469-021-00599-8.

Collective Emotions in Doubles Table Tennis.

Researchers have shown that the emotions that athletes experience during sporting competition can be transferred between team members to create collective team emotional states. Nevertheless, collective emotions have not yet been investigated for sporting dyads. In this study, the emotional experiences of 68 doubles table tennis players (34 dyads) were examined at three time points: precompetition, in-competition, and postcompetition. It was found that the intensity of each emotional state differed as a function of match situation (positive/negative). Moreover, in-competition anxiety, dejection, and anger were shown to predict poorer subjective performance, and anxiety was shown to negatively impact future objective athlete performance. Most pertinently, within-dyad emotional aggregation was identified for athlete in-competition happiness and dejection and for postcompetition happiness, dejection, and anger. These findings represent the first quantitative evidence of emotional convergence in sport dyads and provide support for the social functional theory of emotion in sport.

The effects of caffeine on olfactory function and mood: an exploratory study.

Caffeine has been demonstrated to enhance olfactory function in rodents, but to date, the sparse research in humans has not shown any equivalent effects. However, due to the methodological nature of those human studies, a number of questions remain unanswered, which the present study aimed to investigate. Using a double-blind experimental design, participants (n = 40) completed baseline mood measures, standardised threshold and identification tests and were then randomly allocated to receive a capsule containing either 100 mg of caffeine or placebo, followed by the same olfactory tests and mood measures. Results revealed that despite a trend toward elevated arousal following caffeine for habitual caffeine consumers, there were no changes in odour function. In contrast, for non-caffeine consumers, caffeine acted to enhance odour (threshold) sensitivity but reduce odour identification. Overall, these findings demonstrate a complex profile of effects of caffeine on odour function and, given the evidence from the wider caffeine literature, it is proposed that the effects of caffeine might be limited to older populations.

Higher olfactory sensitivity to coffee odour in habitual caffeine users.

The present two studies aimed to look at alternative methods of assaying the changes underpinning drug consumption and dependence. Here, we focus on whether olfactory differences exist in habitual consumers in the form of recognition and sensitivity tasks to a caffeine-related odor. In Experiment 1, high (n = 18), moderate (n = 23), and non-consumers (n = 21) of caffeine completed a threshold test for a coffee odor, followed by a recognition test for both a coffee and a neutral odor and, finally, a measure of caffeine craving. In Experiment 2, 16 consumers and 16 non-consumers completed threshold tests for two odors, coffee and control (n-butanol), followed by a caffeine-related implicit association test. In Experiment 1, recognition of the coffee odor was faster for caffeine consumers versus non-consumers. We also found that high-caffeine consumers had greater olfactory sensitivity for the coffee odor compared to the other groups, which was related to craving. In Experiment 2, we again found greater sensitivity for the coffee odor in consumers but no differences between groups for the control odor. Additionally, craving was greater in consumers who had just been exposed to the coffee odor. These findings provide evidence for the first time that regular consumers of coffee have enhanced sensitivity to an odor associated with caffeine. They further suggest that drug-associated odors could be a useful tool in furthering theory in drug dependence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Alcohol and disgust: An intimate relationship.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol intoxication has been associated with increases in risk taking behavior and more ambiguously, alterations in emotional perception. In the first study of its kind, we examine how theories of disgust can be used to help explain these effects. METHODS: Using a single-blind procedure, participants (n = 73) were randomly allocated to an alcohol (Males: 0.68 g/kg; Females: 0.60 g/kg) or placebo condition and then completed a psychometric measure of disgust (TDDS). RESULTS: Results revealed a non-significant trend toward lower disgust sensitivity in the alcohol versus placebo condition. We did however find a significant negative correlation, whereby increases in breath alcohol level were associated with decreased pathogen disgust. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate a relationship between breath alcohol level and disgust sensitivity which could help explain differences in risk associated behavior.

Increases in theta CSD power and coherence during a calibrated stop-signal task: implications for goal-conflict processing and the Behavioural Inhibition System.

Psychologists have identified multiple different forms of conflict, such as information processing conflict and goal conflict. As such, there is a need to examine the similarities and differences in neurology between each form of conflict. To address this, we conducted a comprehensive electroencephalogram (EEG) analysis of Shadli, Glue, McIntosh, and McNaughton's calibrated stop-signal task (SST) goal-conflict task. Specifically, we examined changes in scalp-wide current source density (CSD) power and coherence across a wide range of frequency bands during the calibrated SST (n = 34). We assessed differences in EEG between the high and low goal-conflict conditions using hierarchical analyses of variance (ANOVAs). We also related goal-conflict EEG to trait anxiety, neuroticism, Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS)-anxiety and revised BIS (rBIS) using regression analyses. We found that changes in CSD power during goal conflict were limited to increased midfrontocentral theta. Conversely, coherence increased across 23 scalp-wide theta region pairs and one frontal delta region pair. Finally, scalp-wide theta significantly predicted trait neuroticism but not trait anxiety, BIS-anxiety or rBIS. We conclude that goal conflict involves increased midfrontocentral CSD theta power and scalp-wide theta-dominated coherence. Therefore, compared with information processing conflict, goal conflict displays a similar EEG power profile of midfrontocentral theta but a much wider coherence profile. Furthermore, the increases in theta during goal conflict are the characteristic of BIS-driven activity. Therefore, future research should confirm whether these goal-conflict effects are driven by the BIS by examining whether the effects are attenuated by anxiolytic drugs. Overall, we have identified a unique network of goal-conflict EEG during the calibrated SST.

Psychosocial stress increases craving for alcohol in social drinkers: Effects of risk-taking.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to stress and trait impulsivity are independent predictors of relapse in recovering alcoholics, but potential mechanisms that link these two risk-factors in terms of their putative additive or interactive contributions to relapse are not known. The aim of this study was to use a model of stress-induced relapse to test the hypothesis that acute psychosocial stress increases craving for alcohol in social drinkers. We also tested the hypothesis that change in craving could be explained by variability in impulsivity and risk-taking. METHODS: Participants completed questionnaires to assess drinking behaviour (Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire [ADQ]; and an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test [AUDIT]), craving (Desires for Alcohol Questionnaire [DAQ] and impulsivity (Barrett Impulsiveness Scale [BIS]). Participants also completed two computer tasks to assess risk-taking and impulsivity, the Balloon Analogue Risk Test (BART) and a continuous performance task (CPT). Participants then underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), and completed a final DAQ to assess post-stress craving. RESULTS: Participants showed an increase in craving following exposure to the TSST. In addition, risk-taking was positively correlated with change in craving. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggests that acute psychosocial stress increases subjective craving in social drinkers, but that the effects may be trait-dependent, with stress-induced increases in craving correlated with risk-taking.

Autistic traits associated with food neophobia but not olfactory sensitivity.

Food neophobia has been shown to be associated with a range of personality traits (including anxiety, lower sensation seeking) and additionally sensory aspects of food such as taste and texture. Running parallel to that work, research has demonstrated higher incidences of food neophobia in autistic populations and separately evidence of hypersensitivity in some sensory domains. The aim of the current study was to extend our understanding by exploring whether the broader aspects of autistic traits can predict food neophobia in a non-autistic population and whether this is mediated by differences in olfactory sensitivity. In the present study, student participants (N = 50) completed questionnaires measuring their food neophobia (FNS) and preferences for foreign cuisine, autistic traits (Autistic Quotient, AQ), and then completed an olfactory threshold test for a food related odour. The findings demonstrated a positive association between food neophobia and the magnitude of autistic traits and interestingly, an inverse relation between preference for foreign cuisine and olfactory sensitivity; those individuals less inclined toward foreign cuisine had poorer sensitivity to a food related odour. Since AQ was not related to olfactory sensitivity, these findings suggest the relation between autistic traits and food neophobia is unlikely to be mediated by olfactory sensitivity. More broadly however, our sense of smell is associated with experiencing a wider diet.

Alcohol health warnings can influence the speed of consumption.

AIM: Recent research has shown that adopting strong (i.e. high fear) visual health-warning messages can increase the perceived health risks and intentions to reduce alcohol consumption. Separately, it is known that the speed at which alcohol is consumed has dramatic effects on the level of intoxication. In the present study we aimed to combine these two separate areas to understand whether the speed of alcohol consumption is influenced by the type of alcohol health warning contained on the beverage. SUBJECT AND METHODS: In the present study, female participants (N = 45) consumed an alcoholic beverage in a relaxed environment in one of three conditions: no health-warning label, a text-only health-warning label or a pictorial health-warning label with text. RESULTS: We found that compared with the control condition, the beverage was consumed at a slower rate in the two health-warning conditions, which surprisingly did not differ from each other. Despite these effects, product acceptability did not differ between the text-only and control conditions. CONCLUSION: These are the first set of results to demonstrate how the use of strong health warnings on alcoholic beverages can influence actual drinking rate and further suggest that the beneficial effects of slowed consumption are possible in the absence of any reduction in consumer acceptability.

Health Warnings on Alcoholic Beverages: Perceptions of the Health Risks and Intentions towards Alcohol Consumption.

OBJECTIVES: Research has demonstrated that packaging which includes pictorial health warnings are more effective in altering smokers' perceptions and intentions as well as changing smoking behaviours compared to text-only health warnings. However, very few studies have investigated the effectiveness of health warnings on alcoholic beverages. METHODS: Participants (N = 60) viewed alcoholic beverages presenting one of three health warnings (No health warning, Text-only, Pictorial) and then responded to questions relating to level of fear arousal and their perceptions toward alcohol use. RESULTS: We found that pictorial health warnings were associated with significantly higher fear arousal, increased perceptions of the health risks of consuming alcohol as well as greater intentions to reduce and quit alcohol consumption compared to the control. CONCLUSIONS: These novel findings suggest pictorial health warnings on alcoholic beverages may be an important way of making the public aware of the health risks of alcohol consumption.

Olfactory Specific Satiety depends on degree of association between odour and food.

The pleasantness of a food odour decreases when that food is eaten to satiety or even smelled for a brief period (Olfactory Specific Satiety, OSS), which suggests that odours signal food variety and encourage approach behaviour toward novel foods. In the study here, we aimed to extend this theory to understand the consequence of manipulating the food consumed and its degree of association to the evaluated odour. We also wished to clarify if these effects related to individual sensitivity to the target odour. In the study here, participants (n = 94) rated the pleasantness of a food odour (isoamyl acetate) and then consumed confectionary that had either Low or High association to that odour or a No food control. This was followed by final pleasantness ratings for the odour and a threshold sensitivity test. Results revealed that in line with OSS, pleasantness decreased in the High association group only. This effect was not dependent on any differences in sensitivity to the target odour. These findings are consistent with OSS, and that this effect likely depends on activation of brain areas related to odour hedonics rather than the degree to which the odour is detected.

Obese individuals have higher preference and sensitivity to odor of chocolate.

The worldwide epidemic of obesity has inspired a great deal of research into its causes and consequences. It is therefore surprising that so few studies have examined such a fundamental part of eating behavior: our sense of smell. The aim of the present study was to examine the differences in olfaction in obese and nonobese individuals. Participants (n = 40) categorized as obese (body mass index ≥ 30) or nonobese (body mass index < 30) completed a standardized olfactory threshold test to an ecologically valid food-related odor (chocolate), followed by a taste test. We found that compared with those not obese, obese individuals rated the chocolate odor as more pleasant and were substantially more sensitive to the odor. There was also evidence that their sense of taste was more acute for sour and salty tastants. Correlational analyses further revealed that those measures of olfaction and taste were positively associated with body mass index. These findings suggest that obese individuals show increased sensitivity and preference for an odor associated with energy dense foods. They also suggest that differences in our sense of smell offer a promising area for future research in obesity.

Feeling happy and thinking about food. Counteractive effects of mood and memory on food consumption.

Separate lines of research have demonstrated the role of mood and memory in the amount of food we consume. However, no work has examined these factors in a single study and given their combined effects beyond food research, this would seem important. In this study, the interactive effect of these factors was investigated. Unrestrained female participants (n = 64) were randomly assigned to either a positive or neutral mood induction, and were subject to a lunch cue (recalling their previously eaten meal) or no lunch cue, followed by a snack taste/intake test. We found that in line with prediction that food intake was lower in the lunch cue versus no cue condition and in contrast, food intake was higher in the positive versus neutral mood condition. We also found that more food was consumed in the lunch cue/positive mood compared to lunch cue/neutral mood condition. This suggests that positive mood places additional demands on attentional resources and thereby reduces the inhibitory effect of memory on food consumption. These findings confirm that memory cue and positive mood exert opposing effects on food consumption and highlight the importance of both factors in weight control interventions.

Music increases alcohol consumption rate in young females.

Previous field research has shown that individuals consumed more alcohol and at a faster rate in environments paired with loud music. Theoretically, this effect has been linked to approach/avoidance accounts of how music influences arousal and mood, but no work has tested this experimentally. In the present study, female participants (n = 45) consumed an alcoholic (4% alcohol-by-volume) beverage in one of three contexts: slow tempo music, fast tempo music, or a no-music control. Results revealed that, compared with the control, the beverage was consumed fastest in the two music conditions. Interestingly, whereas arousal and negative mood declined in the control condition, this was not the case for either of the music conditions, suggesting a downregulation of alcohol effects. We additionally found evidence for music to disrupt sensory systems in that, counterintuitively, faster consumption was driven by increases in perceived alcohol strength, which, in turn, predicted lower breath alcohol level (BrAL). These findings suggest a unique interaction of music environment and psychoactive effects of alcohol itself on consumption rate. Because alcohol consumed at a faster rate induces greater intoxication, these findings have implications for applied and theoretical work.

A bitter sweet asynchrony. The relation between eating attitudes, dietary restraint on smell and taste function.

Research has demonstrated that individuals with eating disorders have an impaired sense of smell and taste, though the influence of eating attitudes, dietary restraint and gender in a non-clinical sample is unknown. In two studies (study 1: 32 females, 28 males; study 2: 29 females) participants completed questionnaires relating to Eating Attitudes (EAT) and dietary restraint (DEBQ) followed by an odour (study 1: isoamyl acetate, study 2: chocolate) threshold and taste test. In study 2 we also measured the number of fungiform papillae taste buds. Study one revealed that increases in pathological eating attitudes predicted poorer olfactory sensitivity (males/females) and lower bitterness ratings for the bitter tastant (females only), suggestive of poorer taste acuity. In study two we found that both eating attitudes and restraint predicted poorer sensitivity to an odour associated to a forbidden food (chocolate) and that increasing eating attitudes predicted higher sweetness ratings for the bitter tastant. Interestingly increases in restraint were associated with an increased number of fungiform papillae which was not related to bitter or sweet intensity. These findings demonstrate that in a young healthy sample that subtle differences in eating pathology and dietary restraint predict impaired olfactory function to food related odours. Further that perception of bitter tastants is poorer with changes in eating pathology but not dietary restraint.

High hunger state increases olfactory sensitivity to neutral but not food odors.

Understanding how hunger state relates to olfactory sensitivity has become more urgent due to their possible role in obesity. In 2 studies (within-subjects: n = 24, between-subjects: n = 40), participants were provided with lunch before (satiated state) or after (nonsatiated state) testing and completed a standardized olfactory threshold test to a neutral odor (Experiments 1 and 2) and discrimination test to a food odor (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 revealed that olfactory sensitivity was greater in the nonsatiated versus satiated state, with additionally increased sensitivity for the low body mass index (BMI) compared with high BMI group. Experiment 2 replicated this effect for neutral odors, but in the case of food odors, those in a satiated state had greater acuity. Additionally, whereas the high BMI group had higher acuity to food odors in the satiated versus nonsatiated state, no such differences were found for the low BMI group. The research here is the first to demonstrate how olfactory acuity changes as a function of hunger state and relatedness of odor to food and that BMI can predict differences in olfactory sensitivity.