Olfactory responses: attraction or avoidance of food odours in the first two years of life?

National audience; Olfaction is a salient sensory modality early in life. Neonates show keen olfactory sensitivity and hedonic responsiveness. However, little is known on how olfactory responses develop over the first two years, especially in term of hedonics. Besides, olfaction plays an important role in the perception and appreciation of foods. Here, we aim to assess hedonic reactivity to food odours in the first two years of life in the context of a longitudinal study on the development of food preferences (OPALINE). Olfactory tests were conducted on 235 participants at 8, 12, 22 months. Scented and unscented bottles were presented successively and sequentially to them. The stimuli consi…

Infant preferences for food odours

Communication orale

Variability in olfactory reactivity in 7-8 month-old infants

To determine the origin of early food preference variability, an Observatory of Food Preference in Infants and Children (Opaline) was set up. One of its objectives is to relate hedonic reaction to odours to previous exposures (via amniotic fluid and/or breast milk) and to understand the role of hedonic reaction to odours on food rejections or preferences. To answer this question, we developed an instrument to measure and to compare olfactory reactivity in 7-8 month-old infants.

Long-lasting memory for an odor acquired at the mother's breast

Whether neonatal odor memory can persist into toddlerhood and influence behaviors that tap processes related to cognition (attention and exploration), motivation (choice and consumption), and emotion (hedonic processing) remains under-researched. Using a quasi-experimental longitudinal design, we examined whether an odor experienced at the mother’s breast can be retained at 7 and 21 months. The prescribed prophylactic use of a camomile-scented balm defined two groups: infants exposed (CaE) or never exposed (CaNE) to camomile odor. At 7 months, exploratory responses to three similar objects differing in odor (including camomile) were analyzed. At 21 months, three tasks were used to assess to…

Comprendre la formation précoce des préférences alimentaires : l'étude OPALINE.

www.opaline-dijon.fr/ ; Equipe de recherche OPALINE : Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation (R. Bouhalassa, C. Chabanet, S. Crevoisier, F. Durey, V. Feyen, S. Issanchou, S. Jacob, C. Lange, C. Laval, S. Monnery Patris, S. Nicklaus, C. Pédron, J. Piérard, P. Schlich, B. Schaal, C. Schwartz, E. Szleper, M. Visali) + Faculté de Médecine de Dijon - Université de Bourgogne (V. Boggio) + Université de Paris X (N. Rigal) + Centre d'études de Physiologie Appliquée (L. Marlier) + Unité de sociologie rurale (C. Wisner-Bourgeois) + Unité de Neurobiologie de l'olfaction et de le prise alimentaire (M. Taouis, D. Gripois)

Brain networks activated during sweet taste processing in children: an fMRI study

International audience

Learning at the breast: Preference formation for an artificial scent and its attraction against the odor of maternal milk

International audience; Human newborns are known to display spontaneous attraction to the odor of human milk. This study aimed to assess whether the positive response to human milk odor can be explained by nursing-related learning, and whether it can be easily reassigned to a novel odor associated with nursing. Infants were exposed or not to a novel odor (camomile, Ca) during nursing, and tested on day 3–4 for their preference for camomile in comparison with either a scentless control (Exp. 1), a scented control (Exp. 2), or maternal milk (Exp. 3). Prior experience with Ca modified the newborns’ responses. While the Ca odor became more attractive than a scented control in the Ca-exposed gro…

Hedonic reactivity to food odours in infants: Longitudinal approach from 6 to 12 months

Infant preferences for food odours over the first 2 years of life

Impact of sweet food consumption on children's brain responses to sweet taste: a functional imaging study

National audience

Relationship between olfactory reactivity and food rejections in infants

N° 261; The role of hedonic reactions to odours on determining rejections of foods in infants is still debated. To answer this question, the first requirement is to have an instrument to test infants’ olfactory reactivity. Indeed, except in neonates, there is a lack of validated method. This study presents results of a new method designed to assess olfactory reactivity of 7- to 8-month-old infants. This method is based on the observation of infants’ reactions while they explored different rattles. The rattles were visually identical but differed in their odours (neutral or with a food odour). Two sequences of 6 rattles were presented to each infant. Eight odorants were used. Four odorants w…

Relationship between olfactory reactivity and food rejections in infant

Réactivité hédonique vis-à-vis d’odeurs alimentaires chez les nourrissons

Réactivité hédonique vis-à-vis d’odeurs alimentaires chez les nourrissons. Colloque Régional Nutrition et Santé Publique

Infants' hedonic responsiveness to food odours: a longitudinal study during and after weaning (8, 12 and 22 months)

Abstract Background Olfaction is a highly salient sensory modality in early human life. Neonates show keen olfactory sensitivity and hedonic responsiveness. However, little is known about hedonic olfactory responsiveness between the neonatal period and 2 years of age. In an attempt to fill this gap, this longitudinal follow-up study aimed at investigating hedonic responses to food odours in infants during the first 2 years of life. The second objective was to evaluate whether gender has an influence on hedonic responses during this early period. Four control stimuli and eight odours (four rated by adults as a priori pleasant and four a priori unpleasant) were presented in bottles to 235 inf…

Lasting Odor Memories Acquired while Sucking on the Mother's Breast

Hedonic responses to food odours in 1-2 year-old toddlers: a longitudinal study

Communication orale; International audience