Mood News.

Byline: Lois B. Morris

Scent and Emotion

W earing too much perfume may be a sign of depression, according to Yehuda Shoenfeld, a researcher at Tel Aviv University. He studied autoantibodies--molecules that attack the body's own cells in people with autoimmune disorders--focusing on a particular type associated with lupus. When he and his colleagues injected this autoantibody into mice, the mice exhibited a suppressed sense of smell and evidence of depression. This kind of autoimmune interference may be an unrecognized basis of depression, which many lupus sufferers experience, Shoenfeld says. He believes that depressed people may overcompensate for a poor sense of smell by dousing themselves in fragrance, but seeking the right scent may actually help them (he cites research showing that lemon, orange, and lavender scents lift the spirits). In the future, he says, a standardized smell test may help doctors diagnose depression and autoimmune diseases, and aromatherapy may be used as an antidepressant.

Body Judges

Comparing one's body with another's is fairly common. But some women are especially prone to it--and the objects of comparison may not even be human. Debra Trampe, a psychologist at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and her colleagues showed 68 women a drawing of either a tall, thin vase with a slight indentation at the center, or one that was pear-shaped, rippling, and thick at the middle. The women who had tested as unhappy with their bodies (about 15 ...