The influence of fragrances on brain activity and brain health

Brief description of the context of the research including potential impact:

fNIRS is a novel brain imaging technique, that allows the collection of brain signals from the cortex using non-invasive, harmless equipment. Compared to EEG, it has higher spatial resolution and much higher resistance to motion artefacts, making it an ideal candidate to study the brain activity in real life environments. fNIRS has been successfully applied in the scientific community to detect brain activity in adults, younger subjects (new-borns and children) and in patients from the neurointensive care unit to the psychiatry ward. The exceptional portability of the system makes it ideal to be used in a wide variety of ages. The above described capacity of fNIRS technology makes it an ideal candidate to investigate the effects of fragrances in brain activity. Is well known and common knowledge that fragrances/smells affect sleep cycle and mood; however, the mechanisms behind these effects and the alterations in brain activity are not well studied. Understanding these mechanisms will allow us to investigate the effect of fragrances in treatments of sleep disorders and mental health issues such as stress.

The impact of this work goes beyond the objectives of this PhD and our proposed developments for using fNIRS technologies and methods to image the brain in naturalistic settings, has the potential to make a significant difference in how and when we can image the brain for both neuroscience and clinical applications. In addition, our research will enable the development of novel data analytics using artificial intelligence (AI) methods allowing us to translate our images and data to clinical information. It is also important to remember that while we directly target the adult population and as our main clinical application of our instrumentation covers sleep and mental disorders, with some adaptations these technologies/methodologies can also be applied in the neonatal and elderly population with brain injury (such as cerebral palsy and stroke) and brain disorders (such as dementia and depression); which will open up a significant new era in neuromonitoring in naturalistic settings in a larger clinical population.

Aims and Objectives:

-The specific objectives are to: improve the fundamental knowledge on the effects that fragrances have on brain activity and how these changes can be detected using fNIRS as a brain imaging technique.

-Two aspects will be specifically studied with fNIRS and these are the link between (i) sleep and fragrances and (ii) stress and fragrances.

Novelty of Research Methodology:

There is currently no knowledge, in the field of neuroscience, on how fragrances and flavours can alter brain activity, as measured via fNIRS, in specific domains as stress and sleep. The current PhD aims at filling this gap with a series of novel, real world experiments that will shed light on the link between fragrances, sleep/stress and fNIRS signals. Novel analysis and data handling techniques are also expected to be developed, contributing to the creation of standards for fNIRS data analysis, currently still missing across the scientific community.

Alignment to EPSRC's strategies and research areas:

The PhD research scope is within the healthcare technologies theme and covers two main research areas (i) Medical Imaging and (ii) Analytic/Computing Methods (Machine Learning, AI).

Any companies or collaborators involved

Givaudan UK Ltd. Contact person: Dr Giuliano Gaeta (giuliano.gaeta@givadan.com)

The critical mass of scientists and engineers that i4health will produce will ensure the UK's continued standing as a world-leader in medical imaging and healthcare technology research. In addition to continued academic excellence, they will further support a future culture of industry and entrepreneurship in healthcare technologies driven by highly trained engineers with deep understanding of the key factors involved in delivering effective translatable and marketable technology. They will achieve this through high quality engineering and imaging science, a broad view of other relevant technological areas, the ability to pinpoint clinical gaps and needs, consideration of clinical user requirements, and patient considerations. Our graduates will provide the drive, determination and enthusiasm to build future UK industry in this vital area via start-ups and spin-outs adding to the burgeoning community of healthcare-related SMEs in London and the rest of the UK. The training in entrepreneurship, coupled with the vibrant environment we are developing for this topic via unique linkage of Engineering and Medicine at UCL, is specifically designed to foster such outcomes. These same innovative leaders will bolster the UK's presence in medical multinationals - pharmaceutical companies, scanner manufacturers, etc. - and ensure the UK's competitiveness as a location for future R&D and medical engineering. They will also provide an invaluable source of expertise for the future NHS and other healthcare-delivery services enabling rapid translation and uptake of the latest imaging and healthcare technologies at the clinical front line. The ultimate impact will be on people and patients, both in the UK and internationally, who will benefit from the increased knowledge of health and disease, as well as better treatment and healthcare management provided by the future technologies our trainees will produce.

In addition to impact in healthcare research, development, and capability, the CDT will have major impact on the students we will attract and train. We will provide our talented cohorts of students with the skills required to lead academic research in this area, to lead industrial development and to make a significant impact as advocates of the science and engineering of their discipline. The i4health CDT's combination of the highest academic standards of research with excellent in-depth training in core skills will mean that our cohorts of students will be in great demand placing them in a powerful position to sculpt their own careers, have major impact within our discipline, while influencing the international mindset and direction. Strong evidence demonstrates this in our existing cohorts of students through high levels of conference podium talks in the most prestigious venues in our field, conference prizes, high impact publications in both engineering, clinical, and general science journals, as well as post-PhD fellowships and career progression. The content and training innovations we propose in i4health will ensure this continues and expands over the next decade.