Effect Of Feeding On Neurovegetative Response To Olfactory Stimuli

Meal consumption brings to several consequences on the sympathetic and parasympathetic activation of the autonomic nervous system. Furthermore, olfactory sensitivity decreases at satiation with respect to hunger. However, no research was conducted on the effect of odors on the sympathovagal balance before and after meal. Here, 31 healthy volunteers (16 males, age 31.8±6.7 years) were measured Electrocardiographic parameters during both Pre- and Post-meal session together with the presentation of odorous stimuli. Low-Frequency/High-Frequency ratio was increased during Task, at both Pre- (Baseline: 2.3±2.3, Task: 4.2±2.4, Recovery: 2.7±2.0, ?2=18.105, p<0.001) and Post-meal (Baseline: 2.2±1.6, Task: 3.8±2.2, Recovery: 2.5±2.1, ?2=8.778, p=0.012) assessment, with a similar slope. No difference was found in the autonomic parameters between Pre- and Post-meal. In conclusion, an increase in sympathetic activity was found in response to olfactory stimuli, independently from meal. Further investigations are warranted to explain the role of food-like vs. non-food-like odorous stimuli in this specific domain.