Journal articles on the topic 'Olfactory mental imagery'

Across diverse lineages, animals communicate using chemosignals, but only humans communicate about chemical signals. Many studies have observed that compared with other sensory modalities, communication about smells is relatively rare and not always reliable. Recent cross-cultural studies, on the other hand, suggest some communities are more olfactorily oriented than previously supposed. Nevertheless, across the globe a general trend emerges where olfactory communication is relatively hard. We suggest here that this is in part because olfactory representations are different in kind: they have a low degree of embodiment, and are not easily expressed as primitives, thereby limiting the mental manipulations that can be performed with them. New exploratory data from Dutch children (9–12 year-olds) and adults support that mental imagery from olfaction is weak in comparison with vision and audition, and critically this is not affected by language development. Specifically, while visual and auditory imagery becomes more vivid with age, olfactory imagery shows no such development. This is consistent with the idea that olfactory representations are different in kind from representations from the other senses. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Olfactory communication in humans’.

Abstract Using a combined approach of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and noninvasive brain stimulation (transcranial direct current stimulation [tDCS]), the present study investigated source memory and its link to mental imagery in the olfactory domain, as well as in the auditory domain. Source memory refers to the knowledge of the origin of mental experiences, differentiating events that have occurred and memories of imagined events. Because of a confusion between internally generated and externally perceived information, patients that are prone to hallucinations show decreased source memory accuracy; also, vivid mental imagery can lead to similar results in healthy controls. We tested source memory following cathodal tDCS stimulation using a mental imagery task, which required participants to perceive or imagine a set of the same olfactory and auditory stimuli during fMRI. The supplementary motor area (SMA) is involved in mental imagery across different modalities and potentially linked to source memory. Therefore, we attempted to modulate participants’ SMA activation before entering the scanner using tDCS to influence source memory accuracy in healthy participants. Our results showed the same source memory accuracy between the olfactory and auditory modalities with no effects of stimulation. Finally, we found SMA’s subregions differentially involved in olfactory and auditory imagery, with activation of dorsal SMA correlated with auditory source memory.

The current study aimed at investigating the predictive ability of mental Imagery patterns on reading comprehension among students of the basic stage in Jordan. To achieve the aim of the study, 319 students chosen randomly from (6291) in Al-Quesmeh area in Amman, Jordan. In addition, the Sheveland (1992) mental imagery scale and the reading comprehension test were prepared and validated. The results of the study indicated that visual, auditory, olfactory and feelings Imagery predicted significantly reading comprehension.

Although it is known that visual imagery is accompanied by activity in visual cortical areas, including primary visual cortex, whether olfactory imagery exists remains controversial. Here we asked whether cue-dependent olfactory imagery was similarly accompanied by activity in olfactory cortex, and in particular whether hedonic-specific patterns of activity evident in olfactory perception would also be present during olfactory imagery. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure activity in subjects who alternated between smelling and imagining pleasant and unpleasant odors. Activity induced by imagining odors mimicked that induced by perceiving real odorants, not only in the particular brain regions activated, but also in its hedonic-specific pattern. For both real and imagined odors, unpleasant stimuli induced greater activity than pleasant stimuli in the left frontal portion of piriform cortex and left insula. These findings combine with findings from other modalities to suggest activation of primary sensory cortical structures during mental imagery of sensory events.

Olfactory perception is malleable and easily modulated by top-down processes such as those induced by visual and verbal information. A classic example of this is olfactory illusions where the perceived pleasantness of an odor is manipulated by the valence of a verbal label that is either visually or auditorily presented together with the odor. The mechanism behind this illusion is still unknown, and it is not clear if it is driven only by verbal information or if there is an interaction between language functions and visual mental imagery processes. One way to test this directly is to study early blind individuals who have little or no experience of visual information or visual mental imagery. Here, we did this by testing early blind, late blind, and sighted individuals in a classical paradigm where odors were presented with negative, neutral, and positive labels via speech. In contrast to our hypothesis—that the lack of visual imagery would render early blind individuals less susceptible to the olfactory illusion—early and late blind participants showed more amplified illusions than sighted. These findings demonstrate that the general mechanism underlying verbally induced olfactory illusions is not caused by visual processing and visual mental imagery per se.

Abstract When we imagine objects or events, we often engage in multisensory mental imagery. Yet, investigations of mental imagery have typically focused on only one sensory modality — vision. One reason for this is that the most common tool for the measurement of imagery, the questionnaire, has been restricted to unimodal ratings of the object. We present a new mental imagery questionnaire that measures multisensory imagery. Specifically, the newly developed Vividness of Wine Imagery Questionnaire (VWIQ) measures mental imagery of wine in the visual, olfactory, and gustatory modalities. Wine is an ideal domain to explore multisensory imagery because wine drinking is a multisensory experience, it involves the neglected chemical senses (smell and taste), and provides the opportunity to explore the effect of experience and expertise on imagery (from wine novices to experts). The VWIQ questionnaire showed high internal consistency and reliability, and correlated with other validated measures of imagery. Overall, the VWIQ may serve as a useful tool to explore mental imagery for researchers, as well as individuals in the wine industry during sommelier training and evaluation of wine professionals.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by vivid intrusive memories of the trauma. Among these, visual sensations of the trauma are most commonly reported. However, intrusions may involve other senses as well (e.g., acoustic, olfactory, or bodily sensations). It has been proposed that enhanced mental imagery may predispose individuals with traumatic experiences to intrusions and ultimately to PTSD. A total of 58 victims of interpersonal violence with current (n = 20), past (n = 19), and no lifetime PTSD (n = 19) as well as non-traumatized controls (n = 23) were assessed with the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) and a modality-specific imagery questionnaire. Moreover, the sensory quality of the traumatic intrusions was assessed in traumatized participants. Participants with recovered PTSD displayed less overall mental imagery than the other three groups who were indistinguishable. No relation was found between the modality-specific mental imagery and the sensory quality of the intrusions. The impact of mental imagery on intrusive memories in PTSD is complex. Less mental imagery appears beneficial in the recovery process, but does not prevent the development of intrusive symptoms in the first place. Further investigation of perceptual and memory vividness as well imagery control (i.e., to sustain, modify, or terminate an image) also including trauma-related material may be important for trauma-specific interventions.

People with aphantasia have impoverished visual imagery so struggle to form mental pictures in the mind's eye. By testing people with and without aphantasia, we investigate the relationship between sensory imagery and sensory sensitivity (i.e., hyper- or hypo-reactivity to incoming signals through the sense organs). In Experiment 1 we first show that people with aphantasia report impaired imagery across multiple domains (e.g., olfactory, gustatory etc.) rather than simply vision. Importantly, we also show that imagery is related to sensory sensitivity: aphantasics reported not only lower imagery, but also lower sensory sensitivity. In Experiment 2, we showed a similar relationship between imagery and sensitivity in the general population. Finally, in Experiment 3 we found behavioural corroboration in a Pattern Glare Task, in which aphantasics experienced less visual discomfort and fewer visual distortions typically associated with sensory sensitivity. Our results suggest for the very first time that sensory imagery and sensory sensitivity are related, and that aphantasics are characterised by both lower imagery, and lower sensitivity. Our results also suggest that aphantasia (absence of visual imagery) may be more accurately defined as a subtype of a broader imagery deficit we name dysikonesia, in which weak or absent imagery occurs across multiple senses.

This study describes the functional anatomy of olfactory and visual naming and matching in humans, using positron emission tomography (PET). One baseline control task without olfactory or visual stimulation, one control task with simple olfactory and visual stimulation without cognition, one set of olfactory and visual naming tasks, and one set of olfactory and visual matching tasks were administered to eight normal volunteers. In the olfactory naming task (ON), odors from familiar items, associated with some verbal label, were to be named. Hence, it required long-term olfactory memory retrieval for stimulus recognition. The olfactory matching task (OM) involved differentiating a recently encoded unfamiliar odor from a sequentially presented group of unfamiliar odors. This required short-term olfactory memory retrieval for stimulus differentiation. The simple olfactory and visual stimulation resulted in activation of the left orbitofrontal region, the right piriform cortex, and the bilateral occipital cortex. During olfactory naming, activation was detected in the left cuneus, the right anterior cingulate gyrus, the left insula, and the cerebellum bilaterally. It appears that the effort to identify the origin of an odor involved semantic analysis and some degree of mental imagery. During olfactory matching, activation was observed in the left cuneus and the cerebellum bilaterally. This identified the brain areas activated during differentiation of one unlabeled odor from the others. In cross-task analysis, the region found to be specific for olfactory naming was the left cuneus. Our results show definite recruitment of the visual cortex in ON and OM tasks, most likely related to imagery component of these tasks. The cerebellar role in cognitive tasks has been recognized, but this is the first PET study that suggests that the human cerebellum may have a role in cognitive olfactory processing as well.

Purpose This paper aims to explore the influence of four types of imagery stimuli (i.e. visual, olfactory, gustatory and auditory) on food craving intensity based on the Elaborated Intrusion theory and the central role of mental imagery in the food craving experience. The roles of overall perception of sensory imagery attributes and perceived availability in moderating this process were also tested. The aim is to extract the positive aspects of food cravings by increasing them and shifting them toward healthy foods. Design/methodology/approach In an online experiment, 314 participants were randomly primed with each imagery condition. After being exposed to either healthy or unhealthy food pictures, participants completed a questionnaire measuring their craving state, trait food craving, imaging ability, BMI, dietary restraint, hunger and mood. At the end, the impact of food craving intensity on marketing outcomes (i.e. willingness to pay, price sensitivity and food intake) were tested. Findings As predicted, visual imagery was found to be the strongest stimulus inducing food craving followed by olfactory, gustatory and auditory stimuli. Furthermore, the results indicate that perceived availability of food is the only important variable moderating this process. Additionally, the results show that hunger makes consumers more susceptible to food cravings than mood. Moreover, food craving intensity showed significant impact on the two marketing outcomes: willingness to pay and food intake. Research limitations/implications First, the authors used a cheeseburger as unhealthy food and salad as healthy food, future studies can increase the generalizability of the findings by using other types of food. Second, physiological and psychological disorders should be considered and studied as influential factors on food cravings in future studies. Third, future studies should include some behavioral measures besides the analysis of state and trait craving. Fourth, although the main objective of this study was to compare the effect of different imagery stimuli on consumers’ food craving, there was no control (no-stimulus) condition. Practical implications Marketing strategists may benefit from the fact that encouraging consumers to visualize some specific type of food product along with informing them about its availability will elevate their craving for that food product. Hence, using this strategy in shopping environments could be beneficial. In the context of improving people’s diet, our results showed that encouraging people to visualize healthy foods (e.g. fruits and vegetables) might be more helpful than priming them with the benefits of eating healthy. Originality/value There has been a recent enthusiastic interest in identifying the role of food related mental imagery and stimuli in consumers’ decision making and their final consumption (Christian et al., 2016). Nevertheless, very few studies in marketing have paid attention to these underpinning stimuli driving food craving and the significant influence of this food craving phenomenon on marketing outcomes.

This study explores the possibility and the potential of using GIM as a therapeutic medium with a visually impaired population. Visually impaired populations can be considered in two broad categories. The congenitally blind, who are sightless from birth and the adventitiously blind, who have lost their sight at a later stage of their life. G.I.M, according to its founder Helen Bonny, is a model which involves listening to music in a relaxed state to elicit visual imagery as well as imagery for other sensory modalities and emotions. An image is an activated sensory memory, or a combination of many sensory memories that are evoked by the music. Given the fact that especially congenitally blind people, do not experience visual mental images, but experience life, mostly, via gustatory, olfactory, auditory and tactual sensory references, the presentation, will focus on how “visual” or “aesthetic” the GIM experience can be and the challenges, both the client and the therapist will face; the significance and the role of music, as an “external stimulus”; the construction of visual as well as spatial representation of the imagery; the adaptations (if needed), according to the special needs of the population, the major therapeutic issues to be addressed and the boundaries that they face. The possibility of the GIM experience offering visually impaired clients a new potential for external reality will be explored. “One does not become enlightened by imaging figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious” JungKeywords: visual impairment, GIM, imageryGermanGuided Imagery and Music und der sehbehinderte Patient. Hilf mir, im Licht zu bleiben!Maria SamaraDiese Studie untersucht die Möglichkeiten und das Potential, GIM als ein therapeutisches Medium für sehbehinderte Menschen zu nutzen. Sehbehinderte Menschen können in zwei größeren Kategorien eingeordnet werden: die angeboren Blinden, die von Geburt an blind ist, und die durch Zufall Erblindeten, die ihr Sehvermögen zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt in ihrem Leben verloren haben.GIM, nach ihrer Gründerin Helen Bonny benannt, ist eine Methode, die das Hören von Musik in einem entspannten Zustand einbezieht, um visuelle Bilder und Bilder von anderen emotionalen Modalitäten und Emotionen hervor zu locken. Ein Bild ist eine aktivierte sensorische Erinnerung oder eine Kombination vieler sensorischer Erinnerungen, die durch die Musik evoziert werden.Der Tatsache geschuldet, dass von Geburt an blinde Menschen keine visuelle mentalen Bilder haben, dass sie aber ihr Leben meist via gustatorische, olfaktorische, auditive und taktile sensorische Verweise erfahren, will sich dieser Beitrag darauf konzentrieren, wie bildlich oder ästhetisch die GIM Erfahrungen sein können, sowie die Herausforderungen von beiden, Klient und Therapeut, bewältigt werden: die Beschaffenheit von visuellen und räumlichen Bildern; die (evtl. nötige) Bearbeitung, angelehnt an die spezielle Bedürfnisse dieser Population, die größten therapeutischen Probleme sowie die Grenzen, die damit verbunden sind, angegangen werden müssen. Die Möglichkeit einer GIM-Erfahrung, dem visuell eingeschränkten Menschen neues Potential für die Erforschung externer Realität eröffnet, soll hier untersucht werden. “One does not become enlightened by imaging figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious” (Jung) Japanese音楽によるイメージ誘導法（GIM）と視覚障害。光と共にいたいマリア・サマラ本研究は、視覚障害者を対象にしたGIMの臨床的役割の可能性を探索する。視覚障害を持つ対象者には、大きく分けて二つのカテゴリーがある。一つは先天性視覚障害で、生まれた時から見ることが出来なかった人達、もう一つは後天性視覚障害、すなわち何らかの理由により視覚を失った人々である。GIMとは、創始者のヘレン・ボニーによると、音楽を聴取しながらリラックスした状態を作り、視覚的イメージや他の感覚および感情に関するイメージを引き出す治療モデルである。ここでいうイメージとは、音楽によって喚起された感覚記憶、または多感覚による記憶の組み合わせのことを指している。特に、先天的視覚障害者は視覚からのイメージを体験したことがないが、彼らは日常を味覚、嗅覚、聴覚、そして触覚から体験している。本稿では、GIMがいかに「視覚的」または「審美的」な体験をもたらしたか、その際クライエントとセラピスト両者にとってどのような課題があるか、「外的刺激」としての音楽が担う役割と意義は何か、について述べる。さらに、イメージにおける視覚的および空間的表現の構築、この障害の特徴に対する適応、そして主要な治療的課題とバウンダリーに関して考察する。GIM体験が、視覚障害者に、外界の現実をもたらす新しい可能性について検証する。 「人間は、光のイメージ像ではなく、影を意識化することによって照らされるのである」（ユング）Keywords: 視覚障害、GIM、イメージChinese本研究探討以GIM作為治療媒介運用在視障族群的可能性與潛力。視障族群大致可歸納為兩種類型，一類為出生時就喪失視力的先天失明，以及在生命後期階段才喪失視力的後天失明。根據創始人海倫邦尼的定義，GIM是一種在放鬆狀態中聆聽音樂並從而引出視覺與其他感官意象以及情緒的模式，被音樂誘發的意象喚起了一個或多種感官記憶。然而視障者─尤其是對先天失明，沒有過視覺心理呈像經驗的人，他們體驗生活的方式大多是透過味覺、嗅覺、聽覺、觸覺的呈現做為參考，而GIM著重於「視覺」與「美學」的體驗，這對個案或治療師而言都可能是個必須面臨的挑戰；音樂作為一個外在刺激，其所扮演的角色與意義在於幫助個案建構視覺與意象的空間感，並根據這個族群的特殊需求、主要治療議題及他們所面臨的限制做出調整(如有必要)。從GIM的體驗提供視障個案一個全新的探索外界現實的可能性。「一個人無法因想像光的影像而被啟蒙，而是透過意識到黑暗的存在被啟發。」榮格Korean유도된 심상과 음악 기법(GIM), 그리고 시각 장애인들: 빛과 머무르게 도와주세요! Maria Samara초록본 연구는 시각 장애군 대상 치료방법의 일환으로 GIM의 가능성과 잠재력을 탐구했다. 시각 장애인은 태어날때부터 보이지 않는 선천적인 시각장애인과, 후천적으로 시력을 잃어버린 중도시각장애인으로 나누어 고려될 수 있다. Helen Bonny에 따르면 GIM은 다른 감각 양상과 감정들을 위한 심상 뿐만 아니라 시각적 이미지를 유도하기 위해 편안한 상태에서 음악을 듣는 것과 관련된 치료모델이다. 이미지는 활성화된 감각 기억 또는 음악에 의해 떠오른 많은 감각 기억들이 결합된 것이다. 특히 선천적인 시각 장애인들이 시각적인 정신 이미지를 경험하지는 못하지만 대개 미각, 후각, 청각, 촉각 기준을 통해 삶을 경험한다는 사실을 고려할 때, 본 연구는 GIM 경험이 얼마나 시각적이거나 미학적인지, 내담자와 치료사가 직면할 수 있는 어려움들, 외부 자극으로써 음악의 역할과 중요성(significance), 공간적 심상 표현뿐 만 아니라 시각적 표현 구성, 대상군의 특별한 필요에 따른 수정(필요한 경우), 다뤄야 할 주요한 치료 문제들과 그들이 직면하게 될 경계에 중점을 맞출 것이다. 이를 통해 GIM 경험이 시각 장애 내담자들에게 외부 현실에 대한 새로운 잠재력을 제공할 가능성에 대하여 살펴볼 것이다. “깨달음은 빛의 존재를 상상한다고 해서 얻어지는 것이 아니라, 어두운 곳에 의식을 비춤으로써 얻는 것이다” Jung 키워드 : 시각 장애, GIM, 심상

Abstract The failure of e-books to take over from the traditional print format, as was so confidently predicted would happen only a few years ago, highlights how there is more to reading than merely the content of what we see. In fact, like any other object, the experience of interacting with a book, especially an old or historic volume, offers the reader the potential for a multisensory encounter. One that involves not only what the book looks and feels like, both the weight of the volume and the feel of the pages, but also the distinctive smell. In fact, one might also want to consider the particular sound made by the pages as they are turned over. However, it is the smell of older, and seemingly more olfactorily-redolent, works that appears to be especially effective at triggering nostalgic associations amongst readers. It is therefore only by understanding the multisensory nature of handling books, as stressed by this review, that one can really hope to fully appreciate the enduring appeal of the traditional format in the modern digital era. Several recent exhibitions that have attempted to engage their visitors by means of exploring the multisensory appeal of historic books or manuscripts in their collections are briefly discussed. While the multisensory mental imagery that is typically evoked by reading is unlikely to differ much between the print and e-book formats, there is nevertheless still some evidence to suggest that physical books can occasionally convey information more effectively than their digital counterparts.

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Alcohol craving is a key symptom of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and a significant cause of poor treatment outcome and frequent relapse. Craving is supposed to impair executive functions by modulating reward salience and decision-making. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> The present study sought to clarify this modulation by scrutinizing reward feedback processing in an experimental decision-making task, which was accomplished by AUD patients in 2 conditions, in the context of induced alcohol craving and in neutral context. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> AUD inpatients (<i>N</i> = 40) accomplished the Balloon Analog Risk Task, while their EEG was monitored; counterbalanced across conditions, the tasks were preceded either by craving induction by means of imagery and olfactory alcohol cues, or by neutral cues. Decision choice and variability, and event-related potentials (ERPs) prior to (stimulus-preceding negativity [SPN]) and following (P2a) reward feedback upon decisions, and the outcome-related feedback-related negativity (FRN) were compared between conditions and between patients, who experienced high craving upon alcohol cues (<i>N</i> = 18) and those who did not (<i>N</i> = 22). <b><i>Results:</i></b> Upon craving induction (vs. neutral condition), high-craving AUD patients showed less adjustment of decision choice to preceding reward experience and more variable decisions than low-craving AUD patients, together with accentuated reward-associated ERP (SPN and P2a), while outcome-related FRN was not modified by craving. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Results support orientation to reward in AUD patients, particularly amplified upon experienced craving, which may interfere with (feedback-guided) decision-making even in alcohol-unrelated context. Craving-accentuated ERP indices suggest neuroadaptive changes of cognitive-motivational states upon chronic alcohol abuse. Together with altered reward-related expectancies, this has to be considered in intervention and relapse prevention.