Scents from two perspectives
How can we measure emotions? This is the type of questions researchers in the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "Affective Sciences – Emotions in Individual Behaviour and Social Processes" ask. The subject that was bound to arouse the curiosity of Firmenich, the world’s leading manufacturer of flavours and perfumes. This common interest developed into a long-standing partnership.
Large-scale projects often have small beginnings. In July 2004, Maria-Inés Velazco from Firmenich was looking over the Science Open Night program: a highlight of the Geneva summer calendar which she attends each year. While scanning the list of booths, her eye fell upon a title proposed by researchers at the Institute for Psychology at the University of Geneva: "How can we measure emotions?"
This question inevitably caught the attention of the scientist whose employer is one of the world's leading manufacturers of flavours and perfumes. "The next week, I contacted the Institute for Psychology at the University of Geneva, where I later met with Professor Klaus Scherer. He was in the process of launching the NCCR "Affective Sciences". And that was how our partnership began."
The NCCR "Affective Sciences " was established in September 2005. It is integrated within the Interfaculty Centre for Emotion Research at the University of Geneva.
The joint project with the Geneva company Firmenich is one of the various research projects headed by Klaus Scherer. Initially funding was arranged for the salary of a post-doctoral student over a two year period. The student's main responsibility was to develop a methodology to identify as closely as possible, which emotions are triggered by scents and how the body responds to them. Christelle Chrea and Sylvain Delplanque are seeking the answers to these questions.
"During the second year, the company decided to extend the partnership for a third year," explains Sylvain Delplanque, Physiologist with a Doctorate in cognitive sciences. "Then, in view of the findings and the excellent relationship based on a trust that had developed, Firmenich set up a new five-year program." It provided an annual contribution of around 300'000 Swiss francs for a research project led by David Sander and Patrik Vuilleumier. "As a result, we were able to set up our Scents and Emotions research unit." This illustrates the great importance both partners attach to basic research. A fact confirmed by Maria-Inés Velazco: "Since 1985 our company has consistently valued cooperation with the academic world. Innovation is our motto."
The joint projects are rooted in basic research but focused on application. Work in the new Brain and Behaviour Laboratory inaugurated in March 2009, is specifically aimed at advancing research into scent perception by humans. "At the moment I’m dealing with the physiological responses to various scents," explains Sylvain Delplanque. For example, heart rhythm, hormone excretion, brain currents, temperature and circulation are all factors that change when the body reacts to scents. All people exhibit these "symptoms" regardless of where they come from, yet their perception of scents differ. "Culture exercises a major influence on which scents people prefer. Scents are perceived quite differently from continent to continent – and indeed from country to country."
This simple observation has important implications for a company like Firmenich. "We want to find out which cognitive processes lead a person to choose a particular scent," explains Maria-Inés Velazco. "We also want to investigate how people react mentally and physiologically to stimuli provoked by different smells." Sylvain Delplanque adds: "Cultural differences play a role where most scents are concerned. That is also true of fine perfumes. This is why our research unit is currently conducting extensive surveys in Singapore, Great Britain, China, Brazil and the United States."
They have made enormous progress. However the work will probably take years. "We started out from scratch," explains Maria-Inés Velazco. "Before the project yields any results, a lot of fine-tuning has to be done on methods and protocols. But this is exactly what makes the work so interesting."
Since the project has already been publicised three times in highly respected journals on emotion and scent research, Sylvain Delplanque is now dreaming of compiling a scientific compendium of physiological reactions to scents. "This is undoubtedly a goal for the distant future – if only because there are vast possibilities in the way we perceive scents."