| Title: | Arousal influences olfactory abilities in adults with different degree of food neophobia |
| Author(s): | Menghi L; Khomenko I; Pedrotti M; Cliceri D; Aprea E; Endrizzi I; Cavazzana A; Biasioli F; Giacalone D; Gasperi F; |
| Address: | "Center Agriculture Food Environment, University of Trento, Via E. Mach, 1, 38010, San Michele all'Adige, TN, Italy. Department of Technology and Innovation, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense, Denmark. Department of Food Quality and Nutrition, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach, 1, 38010, San Michele all'Adige, TN, Italy. Department of Food Quality and Design, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 8129, 6700 EV, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Smell and Taste Clinic, Technische Universitat Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany. Center Agriculture Food Environment, University of Trento, Via E. Mach, 1, 38010, San Michele all'Adige, TN, Italy. flavia.gasperi@unitn.it. Department of Food Quality and Nutrition, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach, 1, 38010, San Michele all'Adige, TN, Italy. flavia.gasperi@unitn.it" |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-020-77428-w |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2045-2322 (Electronic) 2045-2322 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Food neophobia, i.e., the aversion to novel foods, and olfaction are both factors strongly affecting food choices. Mounting evidence suggests a higher arousal towards food as a key factor underlying the reluctance to eat what is unfamiliar to us. As the role of olfaction behind this phenomenon is poorly understood, we explored the associations between food neophobia and trait anxiety, olfactory functions (odor threshold, discrimination and identification) and retronasal aroma release from a reference food in a healthy cohort of 83 adult volunteers. We grouped participants in Low-Neophobics or neophilics (n = 35), Medium-Neophobics (n = 32) and High-Neophobics (n = 16) according to the widely recognized Food Neophobia Scale. Participants with higher neophobic tendencies were found to have marginally higher trait anxiety levels than neophilics (p = 0.10). A lower global olfactory functioning and odor discrimination abilities characterized High-Neophobics, while Medium-Neophobics showed a higher odor sensitiveness than Low-Neophobics. Lastly, High-Neophobics showed a lower extent of retronasal aroma release, likely due to a shorter duration of oral processing and higher anxiety-related physiological responses (such as breathing rate). In summary, this study supports the assumption that the conflicting relationship that neophobics have with food may be led by higher levels of arousal toward foods, rather than different chemosensory functions" |
| Keywords: | Adult Aged Anxiety/physiopathology Arousal/*physiology *Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder Cohort Studies Female Humans Male Middle Aged Multivariate Analysis Smell/*physiology Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis Young Adult; |
| Notes: | "MedlineMenghi, Leonardo Khomenko, Iuliia Pedrotti, Michele Cliceri, Danny Aprea, Eugenio Endrizzi, Isabella Cavazzana, Annachiara Biasioli, Franco Giacalone, Davide Gasperi, Flavia eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2020/11/27 Sci Rep. 2020 Nov 25; 10(1):20538. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-77428-w" |
