body odour versus cheddar cheese

[piranha]

this is very interesting; i'll need to get ahold of this paper: "Cognitive Modulation of Olfactory Processing," by Ivan E. deAraujo et al., in Neuron 46:671-679 -- May 19, 2005.

summary:

We showed how cognitive, semantic information modulates olfactory representation in the brain by providing a visual word descriptor, 'cheddar cheese' or 'body odor,' during the delivery of a test odor ... and also during the delivery of clean air. Clean air labeled 'air' was used as a control. Subjects rated the affective value of the test odor as significantly more unpleasant when labeled 'body odor' than when labeled 'cheddar cheese.' In an event-related fMRI design we showed that the rostral anterior cingulate cortext (ACC)/medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) was significantly more activated by the test stimulus and by clean air when labeled 'cheddar cheese' than when labeled 'body odor,' and the activations were correlated with the pleasantness ratings. This cognitive modulation was also found for the test odor (but not for the clean air) in the amygdala bilaterally.

this might explain part of why i feel hygienically at odds with much of america, which i've wondered about occasionally, being as my sense of smell is not underdeveloped -- i never got the linguistic indoctrination about "body odour = bad".

via ozarque.

Comments

[firecat]

fresh body odor doesn't smell bad to me, but "many days' unbathed and wearing many days' worn and unwashed clothing" body odor does. I mostly have smelled the latter sort on people who aggressively beg in subway trains.

Also, polyester clothing sometimes seems to transform ordinary body odors into something icky.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

That's also my experience. I think that bacteria get into sweat and change the smell if it's been around for too long.

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

My foot odour is passable on its own, but it seems to react in a really unfortunate way with nylon within hours, so I've stopped wearing stockings/pantihose.