Beyond Aromas: Exploring the Development and Potential Applications of Electroencephalography in Olfactory Research - From General Scents to Food Flavor Science Frontiers

Olfaction is crucial to our dietary choices and significantly influences our emotional and cognitive landscapes. Understanding the underlying neural mechanisms is pivotal, especially through the use of electroencephalography (EEG). This technology has strong temporal resolution, allowing it to capture the dynamics of neural responses to odors, bypassing the need for subjective interpretations. The application of EEG in food flavor research is still relatively new, but it has great potential. This review begins with an examination of general scent stimulation, charts the advances in using EEG to understand odor perception, and explores its future in food flavor science. By analyzing EEG&#39;s ability to detect distinct patterns and strengths in brain activity, we can elucidate the perceptual, affective, and cognitive frameworks associated with food odors. Event-related potentials and oscillatory activities, markers of central olfactory processing, provide insights into the neural architecture of olfaction. These markers are instrumental in assessing the influence of food odors on health, emotions, and decision-making processes. We argue that EEG&#39;s application in olfaction research holds considerable promise for the food industry to innovate products that are not only healthier but also more appealing, thereby promoting human well-being.</p

Transparent, High Glass-Transition Temperature, Shape Memory Hybrid Polyimides Based on Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane

Optically transparent polyimides with excellent thermal stability and shape memory effect have potential applications in optoelectronic devices and aerospace industries. A series of optically transparent shape memory polyimide hybrid films are synthesized from 2,2-bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl)hexafluoropropane dianhydride (6FDA) and 2,2′-bis-(trifluoromethyl)biphenyl-4,4′-diamine (TFMB) with various polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) contents and then subjected to thermal imidization. The hybrid films show good optical transparency (&gt;80% at 400 nm and &gt;95% at 500 nm) with cutoff wavelengths ranging from 318 to 336 nm. Following the incorporation of the inorganic POSS structure, the hybrid films exhibit excellent thermal stability with glass transition temperature (Tg) ranging from 351 to 372 °C. The hybrid films possess the highest Tg compared with the previously-reported shape memory polymers. These findings show that POSS is successfully utilized to develop transparent polyimides with excellent thermal stability and shape memory effect.</jats:p

Beyond Aromas: Exploring the Development and Potential Applications of Electroencephalography in Olfactory Research-From General Scents to Food Flavor Science Frontiers

Olfaction is crucial to our dietary choices and significantly influences our emotional and cognitive landscapes. Understanding the underlying neural mechanisms is pivotal, especially through the use of electroencephalography (EEG). This technology has strong temporal resolution, allowing to capture the dynamics of neural responses to odors, bypassing the need for subjective interpretations. The application of EEG in food flavor research is still relatively new, but it has great potential. This review begins with an examination of general scent stimulation, charts the advances in using EEG to understand odor perception, and explores its future in food flavor science. By analyzing EEG's ability to detect distinct patterns and strengths in brain activity, we can elucidate the perceptual, affective, and cognitive frameworks associated with food odors. Event-related potentials and oscillatory activities, markers of central olfactory processing, provide insights into the neural architecture of olfaction. These markers are instrumental in assessing the influence of food odors on health, emotions, and decision-making processes. We argue that EEG's application in olfaction research holds considerable promise for the food industry to innovate products that are not only healthier but also more appealing, thereby promoting human well-being