TITLE:
Aromas of Salvia Species Enhance Everyday Prospective Memory Performance in Healthy Young Adults
AUTHORS:
Mark Moss, Michelle Rouse, Lucy Moss
KEYWORDS:
Salvia, Sage, Aroma, Everyday Memory
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Chemical Engineering and Science,
Vol.4 No.3,
July
14,
2014
ABSTRACT: Research has previously demonstrated that
aromas of both Salvia officinalis and Salvia lavandulaefolia are capable of modulating aspects of retrospective
memory, attention and mood. This study is the first to report the potential for
these aromas to enhance everyday prospective memory performance in healthy
young adults. In an independent groups design, three conditions, Salvia officinalis aroma, Saliva lavandulaefolia aroma and no aroma were
employed with 45 healthy volunteers in each condition. Prospective memory
performance was assessed using the Prospective Remembering Video Procedure. Data
analysis revealed that the Salvia
officinalis aroma group performed significantly better than the control
group on both event and action subscales of the prospective memory task. Saliva lavandulaefolia aroma only led to enhancement for the event measure
when compared to controls. No differences were found between the aroma
conditions. These findings offer support for those previously reported for the
effects of the aromas of Salvia sp.
on cognition and again demonstrate differential effects of the two aromas. The
results are considered in terms of pharmacological mechanisms.