Before the first bite: Do olfactory expectations shape gastric feelings and functions?

Sofia Ciccarone; Eleonora Parrotta; Giuseppina Porciello; Salvatore Maria Aglioti

doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2025.12.038

Before the first bite: Do olfactory expectations shape gastric feelings and functions?

Neuron. 2026 Mar 4;114(5):801-803. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2025.12.038. Epub 2026 Feb 23.

Authors

Sofia Ciccarone¹, Eleonora Parrotta², Giuseppina Porciello³, Salvatore Maria Aglioti⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: sofia.ciccarone@uniroma1.it.
² Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: eleonora.parrotta@uniroma1.it.
³ Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Rome, Italy.

PMID: 41734760
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2025.12.038

Abstract

More than passive sensory inputs, odors exert proactive influences on homeostasis and cognition. We propose that olfactory signals act as predictive priors for gastric interoception, reframing gut sensations as expectation-driven experiences that actively shape interoceptive inference.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Emotions* / physiology
Humans
Interoception* / physiology
Odorants
Olfactory Perception* / physiology
Smell* / physiology
Stomach* / physiology