Evaluation of Cardiovascular Response to Scent Stimulation for Biofeedback Application

Abstract

Scent stimulation is widely used in our daily life such as aromatherapy, however the effect of scent stimulation to humans remains unclear. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a system for evaluation of cardiovascular response to scent stimulation in order to apply it for biofeedback application. In this study, we developed a device for quantitative and short-term stimulation while we evaluated response of heartbeat by scent stimulation with the device. Then, experiments revealed that R-R interval (RRI) was reduced by scent stimulation of grapefruit. In addition, RRI was likely to be controlled by scent stimulations of grapefruit and lavender.