Emotional body odors alter autonomic nervous activity during mindfulness training in social anxiety.
Elisa Dal Bò, Cinzia Cecchetto, Letizia Zurlo, L. Lavezzo, Emma T Eliasson, Elisa Vigna, E. P. Scilingo, A. Greco, Mimma Nardelli, Fabio Di Francesco, Gergö Hadlaczky, J. Lundström, V. Carli, Claudio Gentili
Journal of Anxiety Disorders June 10, 2026 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2026.103201 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 98 |
| Population | Women with social anxiety |
| Interventions | Mindfulness sessions clean air |
| Duration | Two mindfulness sessions over two consecutive days |
| Measures | Heart rate variability (HRV), electrodermal activity (EDA) |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Key findings | Fear and happiness body odors, but not neutral body odor or clean air, were associated with reduced heart rate variability during mindfulness practice. Baseline heart rate variability predicted greater anxiety reduction only in the fear body odor group. The authors propose that emotional body odors, particularly fear odor, may enhance mindfulness efficacy by providing a socially salient, ecologically valid context that trains adaptive regulation. |
Abstract
Chemosignals found in human body odors (BOs) convey information about a person's emotional state and elicit observable responses in others. While mindfulness typically enhances parasympathetic tone and reduces anxiety, little is known about how BOs modulate these effects. This study investigated how emotional and non-emotional human BOs influence autonomic nervous system activity - heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal activity (EDA) - during mindfulness practice in individuals with social anxiety. The role of baseline HRV as a predictor of intervention outcome was explored. Ninety-eight women with social anxiety received two mindfulness sessions over two consecutive days, while allocated to one of four conditions: fear BO, happiness BO, neutral BO, clean air. Due to technical issues, final samples were reduced (n = 69-85 per analysis). Individuals in the fear and happiness BOs conditions, but not those in the neutral BO and clean air conditions, showed HRV reduction during the mindfulness. EDA decreased in all conditions on day 1, but on day 2, only the clean air and neutral BO groups maintained this reduction. Baseline HRV predicted the magnitude of anxiety reduction in the fear BO group; participants with higher initial HRV exhibited greater anxiety reduction. No associations were found for other odor conditions. These results suggest that emotional BOs, particularly fear BO, may enhance mindfulness efficacy by creating a socially salient and ecologically valid context. For socially anxious individuals, practicing mindfulness under a subtle social-emotional challenge may train adaptive regulation. Baseline HRV emerges as a biomarker of such regulatory flexibility and intervention responsiveness.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on anxiety, most cited first.
Citations in the library
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and 7 more in the library