title: Still Eating Despite Decreased Olfactory Pleasure-The Influence of Odor Liking and Wanting on Food Intake.
abstract: Typically, the subjective pleasantness of an odor decreases after it has been repeatedly smelled. This study investigates how the pleasantness ("liking") and the wish to be further exposed to the same odor ("wanting") are affected by variety on a longer time scale, and how they relate to actual food intake. Twenty-five participants rated a coconut odor presented 120 times for its liking and wanting before being offered coconut sweets. The amount eaten was assessed. Individual patterns of change were described by fitting 3 different models to the ratings. To study effects of variety on odor evaluation, the ratings were compared with a previous study where coconut was 1 of 3 odors presented in an alternating way. Initially, both liking and wanting the odors were high, but decreased over repetitions in 75% of the subjects. About 40% of all subjects showed an exponential change of ratings, 40% a step-like change, and 20% a linear change. Food intake was not related to the pattern of change in the ratings. Moreover, decreased olfactory pleasure did not seem to affect eating behavior. However, participants who rated the coconut odor higher at the beginning ate twice as many sweets as the others. Odor variety did not affect the experienced pleasure of smelling (liking), but did affect the motivation to experience the same smell again (wanting). This has not been reported for food or touch stimulation and may be specific for the perception of odors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Box 500, 40530 Gothenburg, Sweden, Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Blå stråket 5, 413 45 Gothenburg, Sweden, uta.sailer@psy.gu.se.
authors.forename: Uta
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Sailer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Box 500, 40530 Gothenburg, Sweden, Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Blå stråket 5, 413 45 Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Triscoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstr. 74, 01307 Dresden, Germany and Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ilona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Croy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003059:Cocos / Q000737:chemistry; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D009812:Odorants / Q000032:analysis*; D057181:Pleasure; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: alliesthesia; food intake; pleasantness; sensory-specific satiety; wanting