ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Doreen Nash
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1 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Source 1: Akpinar, B. (2005). The role of the sense of smell in learning and the effect of aroma in cognitive learning. Pakistan Journal of Social Science, 3(7), Retrieved from pdfs/medwelljournals/pjssci/2005/ pdf Lab report concerning the relationship between odours, the lemon essential oil aroma in particular, and attention level, cognitive learning ability and memory Out of a population of 342 fourth grade students participating in an English course, 58 students with similar characteristics were chosen to be a part of the experiment, with 29 as experiment subjects and 29 as control subjects The students participating in the experiment were taught by the same teacher in the same manner, with the same audio-visual supports such as overheads and the location of posters or windows in the same-sized classroom, however the aim of the experiment was kept secret in order to avoid any bias or change in the teacher s lessons For the attention test, ten test questions were chosen from a workbook suggested by the Ministry of Education, while the cognitive learning test consisted of twenty test questions selected with the input of four English teachers who did not participate in the experiment The memory test consisted of a flash card game where students had to correctly remember the order of as many cards as possible Data analysis concluded that the lemon essential oil aroma increases attention level, memory and cognitive learning abilities which shows that scent may have a more crucial role in cognitive learning than visuals It is clear that the lemon essential aroma oil has a positive effect on learning abilities. As a result, this scent will be tested on a population of secondary school students to see whether females or males respond better in terms of memory and cognitive abilities. Furthermore, other citrus scents such as orange, lime or grapefruit may be tested in order to determine whether it is only lemon or other similar odours which have the same effect. Finally, the methods used to test memory, learning ability and cognition during the experiment will help to determine how our own experiment will be conducted as it is also analyzing memory and learning abilities. 1

2 Source 2: Augustine, P.D. (2001). Neuroscience. Sunderland, Massachusetts: Sinauer Associates, Inc. Research report which summarizes the results and information of other resources such as lab reports and textbooks Neuroscience textbook which provides a description of the organization of the human olfactory system Explains how odor stimuli are recognized by the human body when they interact with olfactory receptor neurons that are abundant in an epithelial sheet on the inner lining of the nose Links the ability of humans to smell to the nervous system by saying that the neurons are directly linked to olfactory bulbs which project the neurological signals to pyriform cortex in the temporal lobe of the brain as well as other targets in the forebrain The pyriform cortex, amygdala and thalamus provide the sensory information to the cerebral cortex, where further processing occurs as various regions identify the odour in order to initiate the appropriate motor, visceral and emotional reactions to the olfactory stimulus Physical and psychological reactions are based on connections that are made between the odorant and previous experiences Although this resource does not depict an experiment that is similar to the one we are conducting, it provides a comprehensive understanding of the olfactory system and how it may be linked to neurology. Since our lab report does not aim to be focused on the social sciences, but the biological aspects of the olfactory system and its links to memory and learning abilities, this knowledge is crucial to our experiment. Furthermore, it is useful to understand how odours are processed and recognized based on experiences as this may affect the results. For instance, if a person has had a bad experience with a particular odour that is being tested, this may cause a bias in the experimental data. 2

3 Source 3: Fox, K. (2009). The smell report: an overview of facts and findings. Retrieved from sirc. org/publik/ smell.pdf A general but detailed report of the human sense of smell and the effect of scents on emotions, sex differences and cultural differences based on other experiments and resources Uses other scientists data and results in order to explain how the olfactory system works and the effect of scents on emotion, particularly pure vanilla fragrances, which is universally regarded as pleasant and may reduce stress and anxiety Explains that certain studies show that if one expects or is told that they are about to smell a pleasant odour, even without having any direct exposure to it, their mood may increase positively Describes the female s significantly higher sensitivity to odours in comparison to males, particularly during menstruation, but menstruation does not explain why female children score higher than male children The report states that what is considered a pleasant scent in one culture is generally not the same in another (for example, the people of Ethiopia believe that the scent of cows is the most pleasing, while the population of Dogon generally find the odour of onions to be the most pleasant) Our lab design targets whether the learning abilities and memory of females or males are affected differently when in the presence of certain scents. Since this source shows that females are more sensitive to odours, it may explain the results of the experiment if males do not respond as well as females. Furthermore, it provides a brief understanding of how the olfactory system works. In addition, since vanilla appears to be universally pleasant, it is definitely one of the odours that should be tested. Finally, it shows that the results of our experiment may not be the same if we conduct it in another country, as cultural differences appear to be significant. 3

4 Source 4: Heuberger, E. (2008). The impact of natural odors on affective states in humans. Oxford Journals, 33(5), Retrieved from 18/chemse.bjn011.full.pdf+html Lab report which examines the relationship between natural plant odours, jasmine absolute and rose oil, or unpleasant odours, hydrogen sulfide, and affective states such as calmness, alertness and mood 32 human subjects were chosen to be a part of the experiment and were exposed to both intensely concentrated odours in a lab setting as well as the natural scent itself in a fragrant garden Affective state reactions were measured with the Mehrdimensionale Befindlichkeitsfragebogen (MDBF questionnaire), which was a survey filled out by participants who rate whether they are feeling a certain way at a particular time (for instance, they circle the number 5 if they are feeling calm ) Data shows that although the scent of plants in the lab setting were significantly more intense, the positive effect on mood, alertness and calmness was the same, while the results concerning the unpleasant odour of hydrogen sulphide show that the scent was equal in intensity and had tendency to decrease the affective state of 22 of the 32 test subjects Since the effect of the floral scents on the affective states of humans was deemed to be equal within the lab setting and the floral garden, the lab concludes that the visual sight the flowers which are being smelled does not have a significant effect on the results The lab report indicates that unpleasant scents did not diminish the affective state of all of the subjects, so it may be worth analyzing whether any stimulating scent other than the norm has similar effects. Furthermore, it is useful to know that the intensity of the scents does not appear to have a significant effect, as this means that the intensity may not have to be controlled during our experiment. In addition, the questionnaire that was used appears to be very subjective since participants rate their mood on a numeric scale of 1-5. Their rating may change as a result of several external factors. As a result of the bias that may occur through this method, it would probably be better not to use a similar questionnaire or survey. Finally, the experiment does not distinguish between males or females. It is therefore worth analyzing whether one s sex may affect the results. 4

5 Source 5: Keller, A. (2004). Neuroscience: on the human olfactory system. ScienceWeek, 14, Retrieved from Research report that summarizes the results and information about the human olfactory system of various other sources such as lab reports or textbooks in four distinct points concerning current research, olfactory psychophysics, the structure of the olfactory system and the ability to detect and distinguish odours Smell is the most unfamiliar in the studies of all the senses because it is not understood how humans can differentiate between different scents, as well as how it may trigger long-forgotten memories Olfactory psychophysics is the study of how humans interpret scents or odours, which provides insight on the relationship between the chemical structure of odour particles and its corresponding smell and allows researchers to analyze which types of olfactory stimuli can be discriminated by the nose and brain Nasal sensor neurons are selective and have an affinity for one odor more than another, and this preference is determined by approximately 350 receptor genes which allow odorants to bind to and activate the neuron Each particular odor has the ability to stimulate either one or several of the receptor genes, which is likely what allows particular scents to be recognized from one another Not only does this document aid our understanding by providing an explanation of how the olfactory system is stimulated, it highlights that certain scents are capable of triggering even the farthest memories. This provides further insight that specific odours may stimulate the parts of the brain that are responsible for memory, which is the focus of our experiment. However, the article does not mention the different interpretations of the scent that may occur between females and males. Since males and females have different scent preferences, they are likely to associate different odours with memory and learning. Furthermore, the source does not indicate what these memory-triggering odours may be. Thus, our experiment could analyze which particular scents may trigger memory the best for each sex. 5

6 Source 6: Pines, M. (2008). How rats and mice - and probably humans - recognize odors. Retrieved from Report from a medical institute that attempts to explain how humans are capable of distinguishing odours since the number of nasal sensors is lower than that of the odours available to be detected and recognized While the visual system makes use of only three receptors to discern between colours, the olfactory system must use a different approach when interpreting a wide variety of chemicals that make up an odor In order to investigate the relationship between nasal sensors and nasal receptors, an experiment using fish, which have fewer receptors to respond to fewer odors, was conducted and from the results it was concluded that one olfactory neuron corresponds only to a few receptors. The same results were achieved in mice Further experiments using mice instead of fish indicated that the neurons in the nasal cavity are activated randomly when exposed to an odorant, but once the axons reached the olfactory bulb, the activated regions converged into distinct clusters in the same location Interestingly, all the mice had the same spatial map in the olfactory bulbs, which suggests that a combination of receptors that are activated makes up a code that allows the brain to identify the odor Since the ratio between the amount of nasal sensors and odors that can be recognized is said to be 1:10, this suggests that an odor that is generally familiar to all the subjects should be used while conducting our experiment. The investigation also provided information on whether or not certain neurons are connected to certain parts of the brain. Through our experiment, we hope to find odors that can activate the hippocampus of the brain, which plays a large part in long-term memory, to produce more significant results in learning. Furthermore, The document does not contain results that make clear distinctions between the sexes. However, if all of the mice had the same spatial map in the olfactory bulbs in order to recognize odours, it is possible that humans do too. This may suggest that differences in the results of our own experiment may not be particularly obvious since humans may also recognize odours using identical spatial maps, regardless of sex. 6

7 Source 7: Warrenberg, S. (2005). Effects of fragrance on emotions: mood and physiology. Oxford Journals: Chemical Senses, 30(1), Retrieved from content/30/suppl_1/i248.full.pdf+html Lab report written by researches from the company, International Flavors & Fragrances, that analyzes the effect of fragrances on emotions by measuring psychological and physiological effects of aromas Participants of the experiment were asked to complete a Mood Mapping report survey with eight particular mood or emotion options after smelling a particular odour, which measured either arousal levels or whether or not the odour induced positive or negative feelings in order to create a mood profile for each scent The scent of clementine induced positive feelings of happiness but was also very stimulating, while the odour of vanilla also induced positive feelings but tended to be relaxing Principal goal of this research is to identify possible stress-relieving fragrances in order to develop the optimal scent with psychophysiological effects to truly remove stress, which reduces the quality of life of people on a global level Factors such as blood pressure, heart rate, skin resistance, etc. were analyzed to determine whether or not a fragrance had relaxing physiological effects, thus ascertaining their ability to truly reduce stress Results demonstrated that certain fragrances were effective products in reducing muscle tension and can be applied in aromatherapy, thus proving that they are capable of removing the physical effects of stress As fragrances are proven to relieve stress, we can incorporate this fact into our experiment by finding stress-relieving odours that may potentially allow students to be more concentrated and encouraged to learn. However, this article does not highlight the effect of odours on opposite sexes and it is also not known if only women or if only men were involved in the testing, or if both were involved, but in equal or unequal ratios. During our own experimental design, it would be best to have an equal sample of each sex in order to have unbiased results. Furthermore, it would be interesting to investigate whether females or males tend to respond better to stimulating or relaxing odours in terms of learning ability and memory. 7

IELTS placement test. You have 1 hour to complete this test. 20 minutes for READING 40 minutes for WRITING

IELTS placement test. You have 1 hour to complete this test. 20 minutes for READING 40 minutes for WRITING IELTS placement test You have 1 hour to complete this test. 20 minutes for READING 40 minutes for WRITING Write all your answers on the answer sheets and return only the answer sheets. Email : info@nzlc.ac.nz