Physiological Responses of Infants to Repeated Inhalation of Tree Odors

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24570262
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Applied anthropology
• Research Institution: Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute
• Principal Investigator: TSUNETSUGU Yuko 独立行政法人森林総合研究所, 構造利用研究領域, 主任研究員 (00360397)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 嗅覚 / 生理応答 / 近赤外分光分析法 / 心拍数 / 心拍変動性

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We investigated the physiological responses of infants to inhalation of odorous components of coniferous trees. The participants were 52 infants aged 1–3 months. Each infant was exposed to the odors of α-pinene, limonene, α-ketone and air (as a control) for 2 min. There was a rest period of 2 min prior to and after the exposure. During this rest-inhalation-rest session, cerebral and cardiac activities were continuously monitored. The heart rate and heart rate variability were calculated from the electrocardiogram. The measurements were repeated at 2-week intervals until the infants were 3.5 months old. Data were excluded from analysis in cases where the infants fell asleep or cried. Heart rate significantly decreased in response to exposure to α-pinene (p

Free Research Field

生理人類学