Korean J Otolaryngol-Head Neck Surg.  2003 May;46(5):401-408.

The Effects of Essential Aroma Oils on Brain Activation: Olfactory Functional MRI and c-Fos Expression

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Otolaryngology Head Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu, Daegu, Korea. miky@cataegu.ac.kr
  • 2Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu, Daegu, Korea.
  • 3Department of Otolaryngology Head Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
  • 4Department of Diagnostic Radiology, College of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
  • 5Department of Speech Pathology, Daegu University, Daegu, Korea.

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
For centuries, fragrance had beneficial psychological and physiological effects on humans. Aromatherapy, the use of concentrated essential oils extracted from herbs, flowers, and other parts of plants to treat various diseases, is becoming more commonly accepted within the health service. However, there are very few published articles, which provide a sound rationale for the use of aromatherapy as a medical intervention. The purpose of this study was to find a scientific explanation for the effect of aromatherapy by investigating 1. whether or not essential aroma oils caused increased brain activity and 2. which areas of the brain were activated by the essential aroma oils. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Olfactory fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging), which is capable of monitoring and recording regional pathophysiological fluctuations in living brains, was performed on 11 healthy adult humans during exposure to essential aroma oils (lavender and lemon oils) and buthanol. The c-fos immunohistochemical staining was also performed on brain tissues of 24 Mongolian gerbils after exposure to the essential aroma oils. RESULTS: In the human fMRI study, the olfactory cortex was activated in all subjects by the essential aroma oils and buthanol. Additionally, lavender oil also activated the hearing and language-related regions of brain. In the animal study, similar results were observed: immunoreactive cells were detected in the hearing and language related regions of gerbil brains that had been exposed to lavender oil. CONCLUSION: The lavender oil activated not only the olfactory region but also the hearing and language-related regions of the brain. These results imply that the essential aroma oil introduced through the olfactory pathway has effects on other regions of the brain.

Keyword

Aromatherapy; Lavendula; Complementary Therapies; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos

MeSH Terms

Adult
Animals
Aromatherapy
Brain*
Complementary Therapies
Flowers
Gerbillinae
Health Services
Hearing
Humans
Lavandula
Magnetic Resonance Imaging*
Oils*
Oils, Volatile
Olfactory Pathways
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos
Oils
Oils, Volatile
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos
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