Shiseido China Innovation Center, Shanghai, China.
Shanghai China-norm Quality Technical Service Co., Ltd, Shanghai, China.
Brain Behav. 2024 Oct;14(10):e70082. doi: 10.1002/brb3.70082.
An effective method that is easy to implement and widely applicable for improving driving performance and reducing driving risks remains a challenge. Although fragrances are widely used in daily driving, there is a gap between empirical research on everyday blended fragrances and functional fragrances clinical reports. In this study, a deliberately chosen blend of scent without overtly stimulating or functional proven evidence was tested for its potential to enhance performance in a driving environment.
Thirty qualified young drivers were recruited to participate in the experiment. They were asked to watch a 15-min first-person perspective driving video to simulate a driving environment and then complete questionnaires and three sets of behavioral experiments while their brain activity was monitored by EEG.
Participants in the scented environment exhibited statistically significant advantages in two cognitive tasks during behavioral measures. These findings were effectively supported by the EEG data, showing that beta waves exhibited more activity in the occipital and prefrontal cortex, enhanced theta waves were observed in the prefrontal cortex, and the TAB index characterizing driving fatigue was suppressed in the prefrontal cortex.
This empirical evidence highlights the potential of pleasant, natural, and blended scents in enhancing driving performance, suggesting that promoting the aromatherapy while driving as an easily applicable approach in daily life seems justified and expands the application of aromatherapy in daily life.
提高驾驶表现和降低驾驶风险的有效方法，不仅易于实施，而且适用范围广泛，目前仍然是一个挑战。尽管香味在日常驾驶中被广泛使用，但日常混合香味和功能香味的经验研究与临床报告之间存在差距。在这项研究中，测试了一种经过精心挑选的、没有明显刺激性或功能证据的混合香味，以研究其在驾驶环境中提高性能的潜力。
招募了 30 名合格的年轻驾驶员参加实验。他们被要求观看 15 分钟的第一人称视角驾驶视频，以模拟驾驶环境，然后在监测他们脑电波活动的同时完成问卷和三组行为实验。
在行为测量中，有香味环境下的参与者在两项认知任务中表现出统计学上显著的优势。脑电图数据有效地支持了这些发现，表明β波在枕叶和前额叶皮质中表现出更活跃的活动，在前额叶皮质中观察到增强的θ波，并且表征驾驶疲劳的 TAB 指数在前额叶皮质中受到抑制。
这一经验证据突出了宜人、自然的混合香味在提高驾驶表现方面的潜力，表明在日常生活中推广驾驶时的芳香疗法作为一种易于应用的方法是合理的，并扩展了芳香疗法在日常生活中的应用。
