Bernadette M Cortese1, Kimberly Leslie2, Thomas W Uhde2. 1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, MUSC, 67 President Street, MSC 861, Charleston, SC 29425, USA. Electronic address: corteseb@musc.edu. 2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, MUSC, 67 President Street, MSC 861, Charleston, SC 29425, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Given that odors enhance the retrieval of autobiographical memories, induce physiological arousal, and trigger trauma-related flashbacks, it is reasonable to hypothesize that odors play a significant role in the pathophysiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For these reasons, this preliminary study sought to examine self-reported, odor-elicited distress in PTSD. METHODS: Combat veterans with (N=30) and without (N=22) PTSD and healthy controls (HC: N=21), completed an olfactory questionnaire that provided information on the hedonic valence of odors as well as their ability to elicit distress or relaxation. RESULTS: Two main findings were revealed: Compared to HC, CV+PTSD, but not CV-PTSD, reported a higher prevalence of distress to a limited number of select odors that included fuel (p=.004), blood (p=.02), gunpowder (p=.03), and burning hair (p=.02). In contrast to this increased sensitivity, a blunting effect was reported by both groups of veterans compared to HC that revealed lower rates of distress and relaxation in response to negative hedonic odors (p=.03) and positive hedonic odors (p<.001), respectively. LIMITATIONS: The study is limited by its use of retrospective survey methods, whereas future investigations would benefit from laboratory measures taken prior, during, and after deployment. CONCLUSION: The present findings suggest a complex role of olfaction in the biological functions of threat detection. Several theoretical models are discussed. One possible explanation for increased sensitivity to select odors with decreased sensitivity to other odors is the co-occurrence of attentional bias toward threat odors with selective ignoring of distractor odors. Working together, these processes may optimize survival.
BACKGROUND: Given that odors enhance the retrieval of autobiographical memories, induce physiological arousal, and trigger trauma-related flashbacks, it is reasonable to hypothesize that odors play a significant role in the pathophysiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For these reasons, this preliminary study sought to examine self-reported, odor-elicited distress in PTSD. METHODS: Combat veterans with (N=30) and without (N=22) PTSD and healthy controls (HC: N=21), completed an olfactory questionnaire that provided information on the hedonic valence of odors as well as their ability to elicit distress or relaxation. RESULTS: Two main findings were revealed: Compared to HC, CV+PTSD, but not CV-PTSD, reported a higher prevalence of distress to a limited number of select odors that included fuel (p=.004), blood (p=.02), gunpowder (p=.03), and burning hair (p=.02). In contrast to this increased sensitivity, a blunting effect was reported by both groups of veterans compared to HC that revealed lower rates of distress and relaxation in response to negative hedonic odors (p=.03) and positive hedonic odors (p<.001), respectively. LIMITATIONS: The study is limited by its use of retrospective survey methods, whereas future investigations would benefit from laboratory measures taken prior, during, and after deployment. CONCLUSION: The present findings suggest a complex role of olfaction in the biological functions of threat detection. Several theoretical models are discussed. One possible explanation for increased sensitivity to select odors with decreased sensitivity to other odors is the co-occurrence of attentional bias toward threat odors with selective ignoring of distractor odors. Working together, these processes may optimize survival.
Authors: Bernadette M Cortese; Patrick A McConnell; Brett Froeliger; Kimberly Leslie; Thomas W Uhde Journal: J Psychiatr Res Date: 2015-08-29 Impact factor: 4.791
Authors: Nil Z Gurel; Matthew T Wittbrodt; Hewon Jung; Stacy L Ladd; Amit J Shah; Viola Vaccarino; J Douglas Bremner; Omer T Inan Journal: IEEE J Biomed Health Inform Date: 2020-03-16 Impact factor: 5.772
Authors: David C Houghton; Samuel L Howard; Thomas W Uhde; Caitlin Paquet; Rodney J Schlosser; Bernadette M Cortese Journal: CNS Spectr Date: 2018-09-27 Impact factor: 3.790
Authors: Allison K Wilkerson; Thomas W Uhde; Kimberly Leslie; W Connor Freeman; Steven D LaRowe; Aicko Schumann; Bernadette M Cortese Journal: Mil Psychol Date: 2018-04-04
Authors: Bernadette M Cortese; Thomas W Uhde; Aicko Y Schumann; Lisa M McTeague; Christopher T Sege; Casey D Calhoun; Carla Kmett Danielson Journal: Chem Senses Date: 2021-01-01 Impact factor: 3.160
Authors: Gro Tjalvin; Nils Magerøy; Magne Bråtveit; Stein Håkon Låstad Lygre; Bjørg Eli Hollund; Bente Elisabeth Moen Journal: Ind Health Date: 2016-12-02 Impact factor: 2.179