Visual search performance depends on the congruency of olfactory sensations.

ABSTRACT: We here provide evidence for a benefit of congruent olfactory sensations during a challenging visual search task. Using a four-channel olfactometer, we exposed our participants to one of three suprathreshold fruit odorants (lemon, apple, or strawberry) or neutral room air (no odorant) while they searched for an image of a cued-target fruit presented among fruit distractors. Congruent odorants (e.g., exposure to a lemon scent while searching for a lemon among other fruits) led to greater performance levels and faster responses compared to trials where the participants were exposed to an odorant that was incongruent to the searched-for target fruit or to neutral room air, respectively. Post-hoc correlations across our n = 22 participants suggest that low performers in the baseline (no-odoran

SUBMITTER: Castellotti S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12578794 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature