Long-lasting effects of lavender exposure on brain resting-state networks in healthy women
IntroductionMost brain imaging studies on olfaction focus on short-term odorant stimuli, with few examining long-lasting odor exposure or its after-effects. In this study, we utilized resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) to investigate the effects of prolonged odor exposure to lavender on brain activity and...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-06-01
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| author | Ron Kupers Ron Kupers Océane Dousteyssier Jérôme Delforge Vanessa Gonnot Kevin Kantono Bernard Blerot Arnaud Pêtre Laurence Dricot Armin Heinecke Armin Heinecke |
| author_facet | Ron Kupers Ron Kupers Océane Dousteyssier Jérôme Delforge Vanessa Gonnot Kevin Kantono Bernard Blerot Arnaud Pêtre Laurence Dricot Armin Heinecke Armin Heinecke |
| author_sort | Ron Kupers |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionMost brain imaging studies on olfaction focus on short-term odorant stimuli, with few examining long-lasting odor exposure or its after-effects. In this study, we utilized resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) to investigate the effects of prolonged odor exposure to lavender on brain activity and whether these persist post-exposure.MethodsFourteen healthy women underwent two fMRI sessions, conducted one week apart, in a randomized order. Both sessions included rsfMRI scans before, during, and up to 2 h after a 14 min exposure to either lavender essential oil or a non-odorant control.ResultsAn Independent Component Analysis identified the salience network (SAL) and default mode network (DMN) as the most consistent resting-state networks. A two-factorial ANOVA revealed significant time-varying interaction effects between the SAL and DMN. During odor exposure, functional connectivity (FC) increased within the SAL, and a negative correlation between the SAL and DMN appeared, which intensified immediately after exposure. Two hours post-exposure, the FC between SAL and DMN turned positive.DiscussionThese findings suggest that prolonged odorant exposure to lavender can induce long-lasting brain effects detectable up to 2 h afterwards in women. This proof-of-concept study should be extended to other odorants and to men, and offers new possibilities for exploring the effects of aromatherapy or other odor exposure interventions on brain activity. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1b41ec64fd2a46ffaf9a5829c676588d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1662-453X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj-art-1b41ec64fd2a46ffaf9a5829c676588d2025-08-20T03:46:54ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neuroscience1662-453X2025-06-011910.3389/fnins.2025.15559221555922Long-lasting effects of lavender exposure on brain resting-state networks in healthy womenRon Kupers0Ron Kupers1Océane Dousteyssier2Jérôme Delforge3Vanessa Gonnot4Kevin Kantono5Bernard Blerot6Arnaud Pêtre7Laurence Dricot8Armin Heinecke9Armin Heinecke10Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS), UCLouvain, Brussels, BelgiumDepartment of Neuroscience, Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DenmarkBrain Impact, Consumer Neuroscience, Auderghem, BelgiumBrain Impact, Consumer Neuroscience, Auderghem, BelgiumLMR Naturals By IFF, Grasse, FranceIFF, Hilversum, NetherlandsLMR Naturals By IFF, Grasse, FranceBrain Impact, Consumer Neuroscience, Auderghem, BelgiumInstitute of Neuroscience (IoNS), UCLouvain, Brussels, BelgiumBrain Impact, Consumer Neuroscience, Auderghem, BelgiumNIRx Medizintechnik Gmbh, Berlin, GermanyIntroductionMost brain imaging studies on olfaction focus on short-term odorant stimuli, with few examining long-lasting odor exposure or its after-effects. In this study, we utilized resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) to investigate the effects of prolonged odor exposure to lavender on brain activity and whether these persist post-exposure.MethodsFourteen healthy women underwent two fMRI sessions, conducted one week apart, in a randomized order. Both sessions included rsfMRI scans before, during, and up to 2 h after a 14 min exposure to either lavender essential oil or a non-odorant control.ResultsAn Independent Component Analysis identified the salience network (SAL) and default mode network (DMN) as the most consistent resting-state networks. A two-factorial ANOVA revealed significant time-varying interaction effects between the SAL and DMN. During odor exposure, functional connectivity (FC) increased within the SAL, and a negative correlation between the SAL and DMN appeared, which intensified immediately after exposure. Two hours post-exposure, the FC between SAL and DMN turned positive.DiscussionThese findings suggest that prolonged odorant exposure to lavender can induce long-lasting brain effects detectable up to 2 h afterwards in women. This proof-of-concept study should be extended to other odorants and to men, and offers new possibilities for exploring the effects of aromatherapy or other odor exposure interventions on brain activity.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1555922/fullolfactory connectomeresting state functional MRI (rsfMRI)salience network (SAL)default mode network (DMN)Independent Component Analysis (ICA) |
| spellingShingle | Ron Kupers Ron Kupers Océane Dousteyssier Jérôme Delforge Vanessa Gonnot Kevin Kantono Bernard Blerot Arnaud Pêtre Laurence Dricot Armin Heinecke Armin Heinecke Long-lasting effects of lavender exposure on brain resting-state networks in healthy women Frontiers in Neuroscience olfactory connectome resting state functional MRI (rsfMRI) salience network (SAL) default mode network (DMN) Independent Component Analysis (ICA) |
| title | Long-lasting effects of lavender exposure on brain resting-state networks in healthy women |
| title_full | Long-lasting effects of lavender exposure on brain resting-state networks in healthy women |
| title_fullStr | Long-lasting effects of lavender exposure on brain resting-state networks in healthy women |
| title_full_unstemmed | Long-lasting effects of lavender exposure on brain resting-state networks in healthy women |
| title_short | Long-lasting effects of lavender exposure on brain resting-state networks in healthy women |
| title_sort | long lasting effects of lavender exposure on brain resting state networks in healthy women |
| topic | olfactory connectome resting state functional MRI (rsfMRI) salience network (SAL) default mode network (DMN) Independent Component Analysis (ICA) |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1555922/full |
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