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The Effect of Exposure to Odor on the Perception of Pain

From the Psychology Academic Group, School of Health and Social Sciences, Middlesex University, London, England.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to G. Neil Martin, MA, PhD, FRSA, Psychology Academic Group, School of Health and Social Sciences, Middlesex University, Queensway, Enfield, London EN3 4SA, England, UK. E-mail: n.martin{at}mdx.ac.uk

Objective: To investigate the effect of a pleasant and unpleasant ambient odor on the perception of human pain and to test two hypotheses of the role of distraction and attention in pain perception.

Method: Sixty healthy men and women experienced experimentally induced pain (cold-pressor test) during exposure to an ambient pleasant odor (lemon), an ambient unpleasant odor (machine oil), or no odor. Participants reported the degree of pain they experienced at 5-minute intervals for 15 minutes.

Results: Individuals exposed to both odors reported significantly greater pain than did those in the control condition at 5 minutes. At 15 minutes, individuals exposed to the unpleasant odor experienced greater pain than did the control group.

Conclusion: The results suggest that exposure to odors judged to be pleasant and unpleasant may not lead to pain relief. Rather, their perception is associated with greater pain than is no odor. The implications for attentional theories of pain are discussed, as are avenues for future research.

Key Words: odor • pain • aromatherapy • smell • cold-pressor test • attention

Abbreviations: CAM = complementary or alternative medicine.

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				Minerva BMJ, September 23, 2006; 333(7569): 662 - 662. [Full Text] [PDF]