Ambient odors influence the amplitude and time course of visual distraction

Behavioral performance was examined in a task of attentional capture by luminance under conditions of ambient odors (phenyl ethyl alcohol [PEA], olfactory stimulus, and allyl isothiocyanate [AIC], mixed olfactory/trigeminal stimulus). The AIC increased the amplitude and duration of capture, whereas...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBehavioral neuroscience Vol. 119; no. 3; p. 708
Main Authors Michael, George Andrew, Jacquot, Lawrence, Millot, Jean-Louis, Brand, Gérard
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.06.2005
Subjects
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Attention - drug effects
Attention - physiology
Female
Humans
Isothiocyanates - pharmacology
Odorants
Phenylethyl Alcohol - pharmacology
Photic Stimulation - methods
Reaction Time - physiology
Time Factors
Visual Perception - drug effects
Visual Perception - physiology
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Summary:Behavioral performance was examined in a task of attentional capture by luminance under conditions of ambient odors (phenyl ethyl alcohol [PEA], olfactory stimulus, and allyl isothiocyanate [AIC], mixed olfactory/trigeminal stimulus). The AIC increased the amplitude and duration of capture, whereas the presence of PEA led capture to disappear. Furthermore, the PEA caused a general slowing in the speed of information processing. The amplitude and time course of capture were correlated to the irritating components of these odorants, whereas a control experiment showed that the general slowing caused by the PEA was correlated to a drop-off of the subjects' arousal level. These results suggest that ambient odors may exert differential influence of visual-attentional processes and that this influence may depend on the odor's properties.
ISSN:0735-7044
DOI:10.1037/0735-7044.119.3.708