UNASSIGNED: Previous studies have reported enhanced vigilance for threat-related information in response to acute stress. While it is known that acute stress modulates sensory systems in @entity1 , its impact on olfaction and the olfactory detection of potential threats is less clear. Two psychophysical experiments examined, if acute stress lowers the detection threshold for foul-smelling @entity6514 . @entity1 in Experiment 1 (N   =   30) and Experiment 2 (N   =   32) were randomly allocated to a control group or a stress group. @entity1 in the stress group underwent a purely psychosocial stressor (public mental arithmetic) in Experiment 1 and a stressor that combined a physically demanding task with social-evaluative threat in Experiment 2 (socially evaluated cold-pressor test). In both experiments, olfactory detection thresholds were repeatedly assessed by means of dynamic dilution olfactometry. Each threshold measurement consisted of three trials conducted using an ascending method of limits. @entity1 in the stress groups showed the expected changes in heart rate, salivary @entity701 , and mood measures in response to stress. About 20 min after the stressor, @entity1 in the stress groups could detect @entity6514 at a lower concentration than @entity1 in the corresponding control groups. Our results show that acute stress lowers the detection threshold for a malodor.

Stress lowers the detection threshold for foul-smelling XXXX .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['participants', 'humans', 'Participants'] @entity701 :: ('MESH:D006854', 'Chemical') :: ['cortisol'] @entity6514 :: ('MESH:D008623', 'Chemical') :: ['2-mercaptoethanol']
@entity6514 :: (MESH:D008623,Chemical) :: ['2-mercaptoethanol']
