“By exploring the intricate brain processes that underlie olfactory perception, companies can design more effective products and campaigns and create deeper and more personalised connections with consumers,” explains neuroscientist Vasco Marques da Silva. M. Marques da Silva is currently leading Iberchem’s Wavemotion® programme that investigates the neuroscience in fragrances.
“This innovative approach has not only optimised market strategies but also enriched the consumer experience, transforming the world of fragrance into a fascinating field of applied neuroscience research. The brain is a complex structure involving a multitude of connections and morphologies that together process cognitive and sensorial tasks. There have been a range of devices used at the clinical level not only to perform diagnostics but also to help around treatment options connected with the brain functioning – these are often referred to as brain imaging equipment. Under this group, technologies such as Electroencephalography (EEG), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) have been applied extensively in a wide variety of scenarios.
The human olfactory power is still not fully understood and there is still a lot to discover, not only about the identification and recognition of different odour components in the brain, but also around possible emotional and memory outcomes.
These three techniques, considering each advantage and drawback, have the potential to better assess and understand odour processing and, ultimately, be used in odour evaluation. The term ‘neurocosmetics’ has been receiving increasing levels of interest, with the cosmetics industry making claims on how different products may affect the final consumers. The brain imaging techniques herein described may help with exploring this concept by providing robust and relevant scientific data predicting the consumer’s response.
These options are becoming more versatile and user-friendly in a wide range of situations, even though they are sophisticated instruments with extensive engineering work behind them. This makes the field of neuroscience more accessible to fragrance and cosmetics industries.”
