Methods for producing fragrance compositions that elicit emotional or cognitive responses and compositions thereof

Abstract

Provided herein are methods for producing fragrance compositions, e.g., fully formulated fragrances or accords, that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject upon exposure to the fragrance composition. Also provided are fragrance compositions formulated according to such methods and consumer products containing such fragrance compositions.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 286,770, filed December 7, 2021, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0002] Provided herein are methods for producing fragrance compositions, e.g., fully formulated fragrances or accords, that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject upon exposure to the fragrance composition. Also provided are fragrance compositions formulated according to such methods and consumer products containing such fragrance compositions. [Background technology]

[0003] The ability of odors to psychologically affect subjects, such as human subjects, is widely recognized, and there is both market and consumer interest in using fragrance compositions to explicitly drive emotional and / or cognitive responses. However, formulating fragrance compositions capable of eliciting desired psychological responses in subjects remains challenging, at least in part due to the sheer number of fragrance ingredients available, a problem complicated when considering potential interactions between fragrance ingredients. Additionally, differences in olfactory preferences among demographic groups may prevent the creation of fragrance compositions that universally or selectively elicit specific emotional and / or cognitive responses. Although consumer research techniques may be useful in assessing subjects' psychological responses to fragrances used alone, such as emotional or cognitive responses to fragrance exposure, such techniques may not provide guidance for the production of fragrance compositions that reliably elicit psychological responses within and across demographic groups. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Thus, there exists a need for methods of producing fragrance compositions, and compositions formulated according to such methods, that are capable of eliciting emotional and / or cognitive responses within and across demographic groups. The methods and compositions provided herein address these and other needs in the art. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In one aspect, a method is provided for producing a fragrance composition that elicits an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject, the method comprising: (a) selecting one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses to be elicited by the fragrance composition; (b) identifying one or more fragrance ingredients and / or one or more fragrance ingredient combinations that elicit the one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses with a plurality of association rules, each association rule corresponding to a fragrance ingredient concentration or a fragrance ingredient concentration combination that elicits the emotional and / or cognitive response in the subject; and (c) formulating the one or more fragrance ingredients and / or one or more fragrance ingredient combinations into the fragrance composition at concentrations that elicit the one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses. In some embodiments, the plurality of association rules are generated by: (a) identifying frequent fragrance component concentrations and / or frequent co-occurring fragrance component concentrations in a plurality of fragrance data sets, each of the plurality of fragrance data sets including an emotional and / or cognitive response induced in a subject by exposure to a fragrance and a concentration of each of one or more fragrance components contained in the fragrance; and (b) determining the plurality of association rules based on the frequent fragrance component concentrations and / or the frequent co-occurring fragrance component concentrations. In some embodiments, the fragrance composition eliciting one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses is applicable to a global population. In some embodiments, the fragrance composition eliciting one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses is applicable to a demographic group. In some embodiments, the fragrance composition is a new fragrance composition. In some embodiments, the fragrance composition is an existing fragrance composition. In some embodiments, the fragrance composition is a modified existing fragrance composition. In some embodiments, the fragrance composition is an existing fragrance composition that has been modified by adding a new fragrance ingredient, removing an existing fragrance ingredient, increasing the concentration of an existing fragrance ingredient, decreasing the concentration of an existing fragrance ingredient, or any combination thereof.In some embodiments, the fragrance composition is a fully formulated fragrance or accord. In some embodiments, the fragrance composition is included in a consumer product. In some embodiments, the consumer product is a household product, a laundry product, a personal care product, a cosmetic, or a fine fragrance. In some embodiments, the consumer product is a household product, a fabric care product, a personal care product, a cosmetic, or a fine fragrance. In some embodiments, the fragrance composition elicits an emotional and / or cognitive response that correlates with one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses.

[0006] In one aspect, a method is provided for identifying fragrance components and / or fragrance component combinations that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject, comprising: (a) identifying frequent fragrance component concentrations and / or frequently co-occurring fragrance component concentrations in a plurality of fragrance datasets, each of the plurality of fragrance datasets comprising an emotional and / or cognitive response elicited in the subject upon exposure to the fragrance and a concentration of each of one or more fragrance components included in the fragrance; and (b) determining one or more association rules based on the frequent fragrance component concentrations and / or frequently co-occurring fragrance component concentrations, each association rule corresponding to a fragrance component concentration or combination of fragrance component concentrations that elicits an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject.

[0007] In some embodiments, the plurality of fragrance data sets are generated by performing consumer tests or by receiving consumer test data. In some embodiments, the emotional and / or cognitive responses induced in the subject are determined using declarative tests and / or physiologically based tests. In some embodiments, the emotional and / or cognitive responses are determined using declarative tests and / or physiologically based tests. In some embodiments, the emotional and / or cognitive responses are determined using declarative tests and / or physiologically based tests. In some embodiments, the emotional and / or cognitive responses are determined using declarative tests and / or physiologically based tests. In some embodiments, the emotional and / or cognitive responses are determined using declarative tests and / or physiologically based tests. In some embodiments, the emotional and / or cognitive responses are determined using declarative tests and / or physiologically based tests. "unique and upscale", "elevates mood and makes me feel good", "makes me feel good", "makes me feel fun", "transports me to a place I love", "connects me to nature", "helps me feel good about myself", "loves it", "helps me feel unique and distinctive", "helps me look sophisticated and seductive", "makes me sensual and feminine", "makes me feel fresh and makes me feel good", "a tasteful sign of respect that pleases others", "increases femininity and makes me feel more confident", "makes me feel charming, seductive and elegant", "makes me feel sexy, attractive and appealing", "attention-grabbing", "makes me feel good and makes me feel better", "makes me feel comfortable, safe and secure", and "makes me feel fresh and clean".In some embodiments, the one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses may be any of the following: caring, clean, energizing, feminine, fresh, happy, natural, relaxing, sensual, sophisticated, attention, self-esteem, mindfulness, memory, happiness, relaxation, seduction, energy, color, healthy, soft, memorable, "provides simple cleaning", "cleans very effectively", "combats and prevents odors", "provides soft cleaning", "has sanitizing properties", "provides freshness that restores confidence", "facilitates the cleaning process", "improves energy", "provides protection", "harmless and healthy", "nourishes and moisturizes", "helps to feel attentive and relaxed", "helps to look beautiful", "helps to feel beautiful", "is lifelike and "is unique and up-scale", "makes you feel good", "makes you feel good", "makes you feel fun", "transports you to a place you love", "connects you to nature", "helps you feel good about yourself", "loves it", "helps you feel unique and distinctive", "helps you look sophisticated and seductive", "makes you sensual and feminine", "makes you feel fresh and makes you feel good", "is a tasteful sign of respect that pleases others", "increases femininity and makes you feel more confident", "makes you feel charming, seductive and elegant", "makes you feel sexy, attractive and appealing", "attracts attention", "makes you feel good and makes you feel better", "makes you feel comfortable, safe and secure", and "makes you feel fresh and clean". In some embodiments, the fragrance is a fragrance ingredient, an accord, a schema, or a fully formulated fragrance. In some embodiments, the frequent fragrance ingredient concentrations and / or the frequent co-occurring fragrance ingredient concentrations meet a minimum support level of at least 5%. In some embodiments, each of the association rules meets a minimum lift level of at least 1.1.In some embodiments, the lift level is robust based on a non-parametric test. In some embodiments, the non-parametric test is a permutation test. In some embodiments, the fragrance component concentrations and / or fragrance component concentration combinations of the association rules are expressed as a concentration range and / or representative concentration of each of the fragrance components of the fragrance components or combination, where the lower and upper limits of the concentration range are determined by identifying the lowest and highest concentrations of each of the fragrance components of the fragrance components or combination that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response. In some embodiments, the fragrance component concentration combinations of the association rules are expressed as a ratio range of the fragrance components of the combination and / or representative ratio of the fragrance components of the combination, where the lower and upper limits of the ratio range are determined by identifying the lowest and highest concentrations of each of the fragrance components of the combination that elicit an emotional or cognitive response. In some embodiments, each of the association rules is applicable to a global population. In some embodiments, each of the association rules is applicable to a demographic group. In some embodiments, each of the association rules is stored in a database.

[0008] In one aspect, a database is provided that includes a plurality of association rules determined according to the methods described herein.

[0009] In some embodiments, a fragrance ingredient, fragrance ingredient combination, fully blended fragrance, or accord is provided that elicits one or more emotional and / or cognitive responses in a subject, where the fragrance ingredient, fragrance ingredient combination, fully blended fragrance, or accord comprises one or more fragrance ingredients or one or more fragrance ingredient combinations determined according to the methods described herein or databases described herein to elicit an emotional or cognitive response.

[0010] In one aspect, there is provided a method for preparing a fully-formulated fragrance or accord that elicits an emotional and / or cognitive response, the method comprising: (a) identifying a fragrance ingredient or combination of fragrance ingredients that elicits a target emotional and / or cognitive response according to the methods or databases described herein; and (b) formulating the fragrance ingredient or combination of fragrance ingredients into the fully-formulated fragrance or accord at a concentration that elicits the target emotional and / or cognitive response.

[0011] In some aspects, a consumer product is provided that includes a fragrance composition produced according to the methods described herein, a fragrance ingredient, fragrance ingredient combination, fully formulated fragrance, or accord that elicits an emotional and / or cognitive response as described herein, or a fully formulated fragrance or accord prepared according to the methods described herein, where the consumer product is a household product, a laundry product, a personal care product, a cosmetic, or a fine fragrance. In some aspects, a consumer product is provided that includes a fragrance composition produced according to the methods described herein, a fragrance ingredient, fragrance ingredient combination, fully formulated fragrance, or accord that elicits an emotional and / or cognitive response as described herein, or a fully formulated fragrance or accord prepared according to the methods described herein, where the consumer product is a household product, a fabric care product, a personal care product, a cosmetic, or a fine fragrance.

[0012] In certain aspects, there is provided a fragrance composition produced according to the methods described herein, a fragrance ingredient, fragrance ingredient combination, fully blended fragrance, accord that elicits an emotional and / or cognitive response as described herein, or a fully blended fragrance or accord prepared according to the methods described herein, or the use of a consumer product as described herein that elicits one or more emotional and / or cognitive responses in a consumer upon exposure.

[0013] Each of the aspects and embodiments described herein can be used together unless excluded, either explicitly or unambiguously, from the context of the embodiment or aspect. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for identifying fragrance ingredient combinations that elicit emotional and / or cognitive responses. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for identifying fragrance ingredient combinations that elicit emotional and / or cognitive responses. [Diagram 3] 1 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary system for carrying out the methods described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] The mammalian olfactory pathway is an evolutionarily ancient pathway that differs from the canonical thalamocortical sensory pathway in that it forms direct and in some cases reciprocal connections with brain structures involved in emotion and memory. For example, olfactory neurons present in the nose transmit sensory information to the olfactory bulb located in the forebrain, where they synapse with projection neurons that directly or indirectly target limbic structures, including the hippocampus and amygdala, which are associated with memory and emotion. Thus, olfaction is uniquely positioned neuroanatomically to rapidly and directly affect the emotional and cognitive state of the subject.

[0016] Individuals and companies alike have been exploring the use of fragrances to drive specific emotional or cognitive responses in subjects for decades, and consumer interest remains in products capable of producing such results. However, producing fragrance compositions that reliably induce emotional and / or cognitive responses in subjects is not an easy task. The total number of fragrance ingredients, the combination of fragrance ingredients, and the concentration of fragrance ingredients, either alone or in combination, constitute an exceptionally large olfactory space in consumer testing. Thus, the data collected from consumer testing may be large and non-uniform (e.g., the fragrances tested and / or the concentrations of the fragrances tested vary across consumer testing), which may prevent the derivation of meaningful information from extensive consumer testing. Furthermore, because olfactory preferences may vary across all demographics, even if a comprehensive test of a huge sample space is performed on a subject population, the results may miss population-specific response differences and / or global-level trends. Thus, there is a need for a practical approach to identify fragrance ingredients and combinations thereof that reliably induce emotional and / or cognitive responses at population-specific and global levels, and that can serve as a basis for producing fragrance compositions that induce desired emotional and / or cognitive responses. Emotional and / or cognitive responses may alternatively be referred to herein as mental responses. Similarly, emotional and / or cognitive states may alternatively be referred to herein as mental states.

[0017] As described herein (see, e.g., the Examples), it has been surprisingly found that by performing the association rule mining method described herein on data collected from consumer testing, fragrance ingredients and fragrance ingredient combinations that induce emotional and / or cognitive responses can be identified, which, when incorporated into a fragrance composition, induce an emotional and / or cognitive response in subjects upon exposure to the fragrance composition. Additionally, the association rule mining method can be used to identify fragrance ingredient concentrations and combinations that induce demographically specific (e.g., country specific) or generalizable emotional and / or cognitive responses. Thus, the methods described herein can be used to uncover fragrance ingredient and combinations thereof that induce emotional and / or cognitive responses that are independent of demographic factors (e.g., globally applicable), as well as fragrance ingredient combinations that are applicable to specific demographic groups (demographically specific). The methods and compositions described herein utilize these findings to provide methods for producing fragrance compositions that elicit emotional and / or cognitive responses in subjects, as well as fragrance compositions formulated according to such methods.

[0018] Provided herein are methods for producing fragrance compositions that induce an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject upon exposure to the fragrance composition. In some embodiments, the methods include identifying fragrance ingredients and / or fragrance ingredient combinations that induce an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject, such as the emotional and / or cognitive responses described in Section IA. In some embodiments, the method for identifying fragrance ingredients and / or fragrance ingredient combinations that induce an emotional and / or cognitive response comprises association rule mining. At a general level, association rule mining is a rule-based machine learning method for identifying relationships, such as correlations, between variables (e.g., items) in a dataset. As applied herein, association rule mining can be used to determine fragrance ingredients and combinations thereof that induce a psychological response in a subject by mining consumer test data, such as the fragrance dataset described in Section IA, to generate association rules. The association rules generated by the methods provided herein can be fragrance ingredient concentrations or specific concentrations of fragrance ingredient combinations that induce an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject. These rules can then be used to develop new fragrance compositions or modify existing fragrance compositions to induce one or more desired psychological responses. The method provided herein is advantageous in that it allows for the identification of concentration ranges of individual fragrance components and concentration ranges of each fragrance component in a fragrance component combination that induce a psychological response. The method allows for the identification of such concentration ranges from data obtained from consumer testing with fragrances of known component concentrations without the need to test each concentration within the range. Thus, the method provided herein has the advantage of avoiding the need to test many concentrations and concentration combinations of fragrance components to determine the concentration range of a component or combination of components that induces an emotional and / or cognitive response.

[0019] The association rules generated according to the methods herein may be collected in a database. In some embodiments, the database is searchable, for example, by querying. In some embodiments, the database may include a user interface to facilitate searching (querying) and data extraction. In some embodiments, the database may be queried to identify association rules useful for formulating fragrance compositions, optionally existing or new compositions, that elicit one or more desired emotional and / or cognitive responses in subjects. The desired emotional and / or cognitive responses may alternatively be referred to herein as target emotional and / or cognitive responses. In some embodiments, the database may be used to predict a consumer's emotional and / or cognitive response to a fragrance composition, for example, an existing fragrance composition or a new composition, without the need to perform consumer testing. For example, an emotional and / or cognitive response may be predicted based on the fragrance ingredients of the fragrance composition in light of the association rules.

[0020] Also provided herein are compositions, such as fragrance ingredients and fragrance ingredient combinations, that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject. Also provided are fully formulated fragrances, accords, and consumer products that contain fragrance ingredients and / or fragrance ingredient combinations that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject. The compositions may be specifically formulated to elicit one or more emotional and / or cognitive responses.

[0021] The methods and compositions described herein are advantageous in that they can be used to determine useful and reliable information from consumer test data, improving the speed, efficiency, and reliability of production of fragrance compositions produced for the purpose of eliciting a desired psychological response. The methods described herein allow for the development of fragrance formulation guidelines for producing fragrance compositions that elicit a targeted emotional and / or cognitive response in subjects.

[0022] The present disclosure is not limited by the exemplary methods and materials disclosed herein, but any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0023] The headings provided herein are not limitations of the various aspects or embodiments of the disclosure that may be had by reference to the entire specification. The section headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and should not be construed as limiting the subject matter described. Any defined terms are more fully defined by reference to the entire specification.

[0024] All publications referenced in this application, including patent documents, scientific papers, and databases, are incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes to the same extent as if each individual publication was individually incorporated by reference. Nothing herein should be construed as an admission that such publications constitute prior art. To the extent that the definitions set forth herein conflict or are inconsistent with the definitions set forth in the patents, applications, published applications, and other publications incorporated herein by reference, the definitions set forth herein shall take precedence over the definitions incorporated herein by reference.

[0025] definition Definitions of terms will be made clear throughout the specification. It is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described, as such may, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting.

[0026] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0027] It must be noted that as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, "a" or "an" includes "at least one" and "one or more."

[0028] As used herein, the terms "comprising," "comprises," and "comprised of" are synonymous with "including," "includes," or "containing," "contains," and their grammatical variations, and are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited members, elements, or method steps. The terms "comprising," "comprises," and "comprised of," "including," "includes," or "containing," "contains," and their grammatical variations also include the term "consisting of."

[0029] "Optional" or "optionally" means that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur, and that the description includes instances where the event or circumstance occurs and instances where it does not.

[0030] The terms "fragrance composition", "fragrance formulation", "perfume composition", and variants thereof (including grammatical variations) refer to the same meaning and to a composition that is a mixture of fragrance ingredients, including, for example, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, ethers, lactones, nitriles, natural oils, synthetic oils, mercaptans, etc., mixed such that the combined odor of the individual ingredients produces a fragrance.

[0031] Where a range of values ​​is provided, each intervening value between the upper and lower limit of that range (to the tenth of the lower limit unless the context clearly dictates otherwise) is also understood to be specifically disclosed. Each smaller range between any stated or intervening value in a stated range and any other stated or intervening value in that stated range is also encompassed within the disclosure. The upper and lower limits of these smaller ranges may independently be included or excluded within the range, and each range in which either, neither or both limits are included within the smaller range is also encompassed within the disclosure, subject to any specifically excluded limit in that stated range. Where a stated range includes one or both of the limits, ranges excluding either or both of those included limits are also included in the disclosure.

[0032] Values ​​and ranges may be presented herein with the term "about" before the numerical value. The term "about" is used herein to provide factual support for the exact number it precedes, as well as a number that is close to or approximately the number it precedes. In determining whether a number is close to or approximately a specifically recited number, the close or approximate unrecited number may be a number that, in the context in which it is presented, provides a number that is substantially equivalent to the specifically recited number. For example, in the context of a numerical value, the term "about" means a range of -10% to +10% of the numerical value, unless the term is specifically defined in the context. All values ​​and ranges may implicitly include the term "about" unless the context dictates otherwise.

[0033] I. Methods for Producing Fragrance Compositions that Elicit Emotional and / or Cognitive Responses The methods provided herein are useful for producing fragrance compositions that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject upon olfactory exposure to the fragrance composition. In some embodiments, the subject is a human. In some embodiments, the methods include the use of association rule mining techniques for the identification of fragrance ingredients and fragrance ingredient combinations that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response. The relationships determined by the association rule mining techniques can be used to develop new fragrance compositions or modify existing fragrance compositions to achieve a desired (target) psychological response.

[0034] Association rule mining techniques typically utilize a two-part process that first identifies frequent items in a collection of items and generates association rules from the frequent items. The association rules may be evaluated for quality to ensure that the rules are reliable. Association rules that satisfy the quality evaluation are sometimes referred to herein as valid association rules. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the association rule mining method provided herein.

[0035] In some embodiments, the association rule mining method mines consumer test data, which may be in the form of a fragrance dataset, for example as described in Section IA. In some embodiments, the method includes identifying frequent fragrance component concentrations in the fragrance dataset. In some embodiments, the method includes identifying frequently co-occurring fragrance component concentrations in the fragrance dataset. In some embodiments, the frequent co-occurring fragrance component concentrations include any number of fragrance components. In some embodiments, the frequent co-occurring fragrance component concentrations include two or more fragrance components. In some embodiments, the frequent co-occurring fragrance component concentrations include three or more fragrance components. In some embodiments, the frequent co-occurring fragrance component concentrations include 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 fragrance components. In some embodiments, the method includes identifying frequent fragrance component concentrations and / or frequently co-occurring fragrance component concentrations in the fragrance dataset. Methods for identifying frequent items in a collection of items are commonly known in the art and include, but are not limited to, Apriori algorithm, Eclat algorithm, Frequent Pattern (FP) growing algorithm, and the like. In some embodiments, the identification of frequent co-occurring fragrance ingredient concentrations may be determined by identifying all frequent lower dimensional subsets. As an example, to identify all frequent two-dimensional sets of items (sets of items may also be referred to herein as itemsets, including one-dimensional sets of items), one may first determine all frequent one-dimensional itemsets, and then identify frequent two-dimensional itemsets based on the frequent one-dimensional itemsets. In some embodiments, the determination of frequent itemsets includes satisfaction of a minimum support level (see Section IB-1). In some embodiments, frequent fragrance ingredient concentrations and frequent co-occurring fragrance ingredient concentrations are identified according to a minimum support level, as described in Section IB-1.

[0036] From the identified frequent fragrance component concentrations and / or the identified frequently co-occurring fragrance component concentrations, one or more association rules may be generated. In some embodiments, the association rules correspond to concentrations of fragrance components that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response. In some embodiments, the association rules correspond to particular concentrations of fragrance component combinations that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response. In some embodiments, the one or more association rules include association rules that correspond to concentrations of fragrance components that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response. In some embodiments, the one or more association rules include association rules that correspond to particular concentrations of fragrance component combinations that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response. In some embodiments, the one or more association rules include association rules that correspond to particular concentrations of fragrance component combinations that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response. In some embodiments, the one or more association rules include association rules that correspond to concentrations of fragrance components that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response and association rules that correspond to particular concentrations of fragrance component combinations that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response. An individual association rule may include either a concentration of a fragrance component that induces one emotional or cognitive response or a combination of fragrance components at a particular concentration. However, it should be recognized that a fragrance composed of one or more fragrance components may induce one or more emotional and / or cognitive responses in a subject. Thus, in some embodiments, the same fragrance component at a particular concentration may result in one or more association rules, where each rule relates the concentration of the fragrance component to one emotional or cognitive response different from any other rule. Similarly, the same fragrance component combination at a particular concentration may result in one or more association rules, where each rule relates the combination to one emotional or cognitive response different from any other rule. In some embodiments, a single fragrance component may be included in a fragrance composition, e.g., an existing or new fragrance composition, to induce two or more emotional and / or cognitive responses. In some embodiments, a single fragrance ingredient combination may be included in a fragrance composition, for example an existing or new fragrance composition, to elicit more than one emotional and / or cognitive response.In some embodiments, a fragrance composition may contain two or more fragrance ingredients and / or two or more fragrance ingredient combinations to elicit a single emotional or cognitive response. Thus, a fragrance composition described herein may contain one or more association rules. For example, a fragrance composition may contain one or more fragrance ingredients and / or one or more fragrance ingredient combinations at concentrations that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response. In some embodiments, a fragrance composition contains one or more association rules that elicit the same emotional and / or cognitive response. In some embodiments, a fragrance composition contains one or more association rules that each elicit a different emotional and / or cognitive response.

[0037] Depending on how the frequent itemsets are identified, a large number of association rules can be generated. For example, when determining frequent n-dimensional co-occurring fragrance ingredient concentrations by first identifying all frequent 1-dimensional fragrance ingredient concentrations, a large number of association rules can be generated to capture small concentration combination differences of the same fragrance ingredients that, when combined, elicit the same psychological response. The same number of association rules is also possible when assessing frequent 1-dimensional itemsets. While this level of granularity can be useful, it can also be advantageous to aggregate rules into concentration ranges of fragrance ingredients that elicit emotional and / or cognitive responses. Thus, in some embodiments, a concentration range of each fragrance ingredient in the fragrance ingredient and / or fragrance ingredient combination is determined. In some embodiments, the concentration range of the fragrance ingredient includes a lower limit equal to the minimum concentration of the fragrance ingredient present in the consumer test fragrance and an upper limit equal to the maximum concentration of the fragrance ingredient present in the consumer test fragrance. In some embodiments, the lower and upper limits are determined by identifying the minimum and maximum concentrations of fragrance components that elicit the same emotional and / or cognitive response. In some embodiments, for example, when considering a fragrance component combination, the lower and upper limits are determined by identifying the minimum and maximum concentrations of each fragrance component when present in a combination that elicits the same emotional and / or cognitive response. In some embodiments, the minimum and maximum concentrations of fragrance components that elicit a response are determined by quantifying lift levels, for example, as defined in Section IB-3. In some embodiments, the association rule includes a concentration range for each fragrance component, e.g., one or more fragrance components, contained in the association rule. In some embodiments, the concentration ranges of fragrance components contained in the association rule may be representativeized to calculate an average concentration. Thus, in some embodiments, the association rule includes an average (representative) concentration of each fragrance component contained in the association rule. In some embodiments, the association rule includes a median concentration of each fragrance component contained in the association rule.

[0038] In some embodiments, the concentrations of two or more fragrance components included in an association rule may be expressed as a ratio. In some embodiments, if the concentrations of each fragrance component included in an association rule are expressed as a range, the ratio of the fragrance components may be expressed as a ratio range. In some embodiments, if the concentrations of each fragrance component included in an association rule are expressed as a range, the ratio of the fragrance components may be expressed as a ratio of the average (representative) concentrations of each fragrance component. In some embodiments, if the concentrations of each fragrance component included in an association rule are expressed as a range, the ratio of the fragrance components may be expressed as a ratio of the median concentrations of each fragrance component.

[0039] Any means of expressing fragrance ingredient concentrations may be used in accordance with the methods described herein, including association rule mining methods. In some embodiments, the concentrations of fragrance ingredients may be expressed as percentages (e.g., percent weight), ratios, or proportions (e.g., parts per thousand, parts per million (ppm), parts per billion (ppb), parts per trillion (ppt)). In some embodiments, the concentrations are expressed as relationships between fragrance ingredients in a composition. In some embodiments, the concentrations are expressed as ratios of fragrance ingredients.

[0040] In some embodiments, one or more association rules may be evaluated for quality, e.g., as described in Section IB. In some embodiments, the quality of an association rule is determined based on one or more of a support level, a confidence level, or a lift level, e.g., as described in Sections IB-1-IB-3 below. In some embodiments, the quality of an association rule is determined based on a support level and a lift level. In some embodiments, the support level, confidence level, and / or lift level must meet or exceed a predefined minimum threshold for an association rule to be considered valid.

[0041] It should be appreciated that the methods provided herein may be used to generate association rules applicable to a global population and / or to a specific demographic. In some embodiments, one or more association rules are generalizable across an entire demographic group, e.g., across all populations of multiple countries, across all ethnic groups, across all age groups, across all genders, etc. In some embodiments, the generated association rules are specific to a demographic group, e.g., a particular country, ethnicity, age group, gender, etc. In some embodiments, one or more association rules are specific to France, China, the UK, the US, Brazil, Germany, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Japan, or Vietnam. In some embodiments, one or more association rules are generalizable across an entire age group. In some embodiments, one or more association rules generated are specific to an age group. In some embodiments, the creation of demographic-specific association rules is accomplished according to the methods described in Section IC. The ability to generate globally or demographically applicable association rules may enable the selective production of fragrance compositions, e.g., new fragrance compositions and / or modified fragrance compositions, that are applicable to global or specific demographics.

[0042] Association rules determined according to the methods herein may be stored in a database, such as the database described in Section ID. It should further be appreciated that the methods herein include systems, e.g., computing systems, that perform the association rule generation, storage, and / or retrieval methods. See Section IE. In some embodiments, the methods provided herein include computer-implemented methods. In some embodiments, the association rule mining methods described herein include computer-implemented methods. The methods and systems provided herein may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the methods and systems may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program instructions (e.g., computer software) embodied in the storage medium. Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may be utilized, including hard disks, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices. The methods and systems may take the form of web-implemented computer software. In some embodiments, the methods and systems may be implemented on a remote server.

[0043] The method of producing a fragrance composition includes using specific concentrations of fragrance ingredients and / or fragrance ingredient combinations determined by association rule mining to formulate a fragrance composition. In some cases, the fragrance composition is a new fragrance composition. For example, the new fragrance composition may be formulated according to one or more association rules to elicit a target emotional and / or cognitive response. In some embodiments, the fragrance composition is an existing fragrance composition. In this case, the existing fragrance composition may be reformulated according to one or more association rules to elicit a new or enhanced desired emotional and / or cognitive response. See, e.g., Section II.

[0044] In some embodiments, the method for producing a fragrance composition produces a new fragrance composition. In some embodiments, the association rules are used to produce a new fragrance composition. In some embodiments, the association rules are used to produce a new fragrance that elicits one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses. In some embodiments, producing a fragrance composition comprises using association rule mining as described herein to identify fragrance ingredient concentrations and / or fragrance ingredient concentration combinations that elicit the target emotional and / or cognitive responses that can be formulated in the new fragrance composition. In some embodiments, producing a fragrance composition comprises querying a database containing association rules to identify fragrance ingredient concentrations and / or fragrance ingredient concentration combinations that elicit the target emotional and / or cognitive responses that can be formulated in the new fragrance composition.

[0045] In some embodiments, the method of producing a fragrance composition produces a fragrance composition that is a modification of an existing fragrance composition. In some embodiments, the association rules are used to modify an existing fragrance to elicit one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses. In some embodiments, the association rules are used to modify an existing fragrance to enhance one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses elicited by the existing fragrance composition. In some embodiments, producing a fragrance composition comprises modifying the concentrations of fragrance ingredients already present in the existing fragrance composition to match the association rules. In some embodiments, producing a fragrance composition comprises modifying fragrance ingredients present in the existing fragrance to change the concentrations and / or ratios of the fragrance ingredients to achieve the target emotional or cognitive response. In some embodiments, the modification comprises one or more of increasing the concentration of an existing fragrance ingredient, decreasing the concentration of an existing fragrance ingredient, or removing an existing fragrance ingredient from the existing fragrance composition. In some embodiments, producing a fragrance composition comprises modifying an existing fragrance composition by adding new fragrance ingredients to the existing fragrance composition. In some embodiments, producing a fragrance composition comprises modifying an existing fragrance composition by adding new fragrance ingredients to the existing fragrance composition and modifying the existing fragrance ingredients. In some embodiments, producing a fragrance composition comprises modifying an existing fragrance by adding new fragrance ingredients, removing existing fragrance ingredients, increasing the concentration of existing fragrance ingredients, decreasing the concentration of existing fragrance ingredients, or any combination thereof.

[0046] In some embodiments, producing the fragrance composition includes iteratively optimizing the fragrance composition. For example, either a new or modified fragrance composition may undergo one or more optimization procedures during which additional association rules are incorporated into the fragrance composition. In some embodiments, at least one, two, three, four, five, or more rounds of optimization are performed. In some embodiments, two or more rounds of optimization are performed. In some embodiments, consumer testing of the fragrance composition may be performed after one or more rounds of optimization.

[0047] A. Fragrance Dataset The method of producing fragrance compositions that induce psychological responses may include the use of data derived from consumer testing. In some embodiments, the association rule mining method provided herein may be performed with data from consumer testing. Any type or combination of consumer testing may be used, provided that the composition of the fragrance, e.g., the concentration of the fragrance components, is known or quantifiable, as long as the testing involves determining the emotional or cognitive response induced in the subject upon exposure to the fragrance. In some embodiments, the fragrance used in the consumer testing is a fragrance component, an accord, a schema, or a fully formulated fragrance. The fragrance used in the consumer testing may also be referred to herein as a test fragrance. In some embodiments, the association rule mining method is performed with consumer testing data that includes the emotional and / or cognitive response induced in the subject upon exposure to the fragrance and the concentration of each fragrance component contained in the test fragrance. When testing fragrance components, there is only one concentration.

[0048] A dataset that includes one or more emotional and / or cognitive responses elicited in a subject upon exposure to a fragrance and the concentration of each fragrance component contained in the fragrance is referred to herein as a “fragrance dataset.” In some embodiments, the methods provided herein are performed with a plurality of fragrance datasets.

[0049] In some embodiments, the consumer test is a declarative test. In some embodiments, the consumer test is a free-sorting test. A free-sorting test involves a blinded sniff test protocol in which subjects must smell fragrances and group them based on their olfactory proximity. In some embodiments, the consumer test is a monadic test. A monadic test, for example, has subjects smell and rate a single fragrance without an olfactory-based sorting step. The tester may be asked to rate the fragrances, for example, a group of fragrances or individual fragrances, using the descriptors. In some embodiments, the descriptors are provided as part of the consumer test. In some embodiments, the descriptors are one or more of fresh, sensual, natural, feminine, sophisticated, caring, clean, energizing, happy, and relaxing. In some embodiments, the descriptors are one or more of healthy, soft, or memorable. In some embodiments, the descriptors are propositions.In some embodiments, the claims are: "Provides simple cleaning", "Cleans very effectively", "Combats and prevents bad odors", "Provides soft cleaning", "Has sanitizing properties", "Provides freshness that restores confidence", "Facilitates the cleaning process", "Improves energy", "Provides protection", "Non-toxic and healthy", "Nourishes and moisturizes", "Helps you feel mindful and release tension", "Helps you look beautiful", "Helps you feel beautiful", "Real-lifelike", "Unique and upscale", "Elevates mood and makes you feel good", "Makes you feel good", "Makes you feel fun", "Transports you to a place you love". , "connects with nature", "helps me feel good about myself", "likes me", "helps me feel unique and distinctive", "helps me look sophisticated and seductive", "makes me sensual and feminine", "makes me feel fresh and good", "is a tasteful sign of respect that is pleasing to others", "increases femininity and makes me feel more confident", "makes me feel charming, seductive and elegant", "makes me feel sexy, attractive and appealing", "attracts attention", "makes me feel good and makes me feel better", "makes me feel comfortable, safe and rejuvenated", or "makes me feel fresh and clean". In some embodiments, the descriptor is a color, such as purple, blue, green, red, orange, yellow, indigo, violet, brown, black, white, etc. In some embodiments, the descriptor is a sound, such as music, or an image, such as a visual scene or a mental (imaginative) scene. In some embodiments, the descriptor is provided to the examiner in the form of a questionnaire. In some embodiments, the descriptors may be scored on a point scale, for example a 5-point or 10-point scale. In some embodiments, the descriptors may be scored using a binary scale, for example, in which case the questionnaire may require the examiner to select all descriptors that apply.

[0050] In some embodiments, the emotional and / or cognitive responses include or are the descriptors described herein. In some embodiments, the emotional or cognitive responses capture the general principles of the descriptors. For example, a propositional descriptor may capture a more general feeling, such as, for example, happiness, sexiness, confidence, cleanliness, etc. A descriptor may encompass more than one general feeling. Thus, it will be appreciated that the descriptors may be correlated with each other. In some embodiments, the emotional and / or cognitive responses are correlated with each other. In some embodiments, the test fragrances induce correlated mental responses in subjects upon exposure to the fragrance. In some embodiments, the correlation of the descriptors is captured in two or more association rules, where each association rule includes the same fragrance ingredient concentration or fragrance ingredient concentration combination and a different mental response than any other rule. In some embodiments, a fragrance composition produced to elicit a target emotional and / or cognitive response may further elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response correlated to the target emotional and / or cognitive response.

[0051] In some embodiments, the emotional and / or cognitive responses induced in the subject by exposure to the fragrance include or are the descriptors described herein used by the subject to describe the fragrance or set of grouped fragrances. In some embodiments, the fragrance dataset includes concentrations of fragrance ingredients contained in the test fragrances and one or more emotional or cognitive responses, e.g., descriptors self-reported by the subject upon exposure to the test fragrances.

[0052] In some embodiments, the consumer test is a physiologically based test. For example, the consumer test may assess induced brain activity patterns, facial expressions, heart rate, blood pressure, skin conductance, muscle tone, startle reflex, skin temperature, eye movement, and / or pupil diameter in a subject upon exposure to a test fragrance. In some embodiments, induced brain activity patterns are determined in a subject upon exposure to a fragrance. In this case, the induced brain activity may be analyzed to determine whether the fragrance-induced brain activity is related to brain activity of an emotional or cognitive state. In some embodiments, brain activity (e.g., brain activity of an emotional or cognitive state, fragrance-induced brain activity) is determined using functional neuroimaging techniques. Non-limiting examples of neuroimaging techniques include functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), positron emission tomography (PET), functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and functional ultrasound imaging (fUS). In some embodiments, the emotional or cognitive state includes or is attention, self-esteem, mindfulness, memory, happiness, relaxation, seduction, and energy. In some embodiments, the emotional and / or cognitive response includes or is attention, self-esteem, mindfulness, memory, happiness, relaxation, seduction, or energy.

[0053] In some embodiments, the consumer test includes a declarative test. In some embodiments, the consumer test includes a physiologically based test. In some embodiments, the consumer test includes a declarative test and a physiologically based test. In some embodiments, the subject is tested using a declarative test. In some embodiments, the subject is tested using a physiologically based test. In some embodiments, the subject is tested using a declarative test and a physiologically based test. For example, the same subject may be subjected to both a declarative and a physiologically based test. In some embodiments, the subject is tested using either a declarative test or a physiologically based test. For example, the subject may be subjected to only one of a declarative test or a physiologically based test.

[0054] In some embodiments, the plurality of fragrance data sets includes a fragrance data set from a declarative test. In some embodiments, the plurality of fragrance data sets includes a fragrance data set from a physiologically-based test. In some embodiments, the plurality of fragrance data sets includes a fragrance data set from a declarative test and a physiologically-based test.

[0055] B. Evaluation of Association Rules Association rules determined according to the methods provided herein may be evaluated to determine the quality of the rule prior to accepting the rule as valid. Methods for evaluating association rule quality include, but are not limited to, determining a support level, a confidence level, and / or a lift level. Each evaluation type provides a different means of assessing the validity and value of an association rule. In some embodiments, the methods for evaluating association rule quality may themselves be subject to robustness and / or reliability testing. For example, lift levels may be statistically assessed for robustness, as described in Section IB-3.

[0056] In some embodiments, an association rule that satisfies one or more of the support level, confidence level, or lift level is deemed valid. In some embodiments, an association rule that satisfies the support level and the confidence level is deemed valid. In some embodiments, an association rule that satisfies the support level and the lift level is deemed valid. In some embodiments, the valid rules are stored in a database, for example, as described in Section ID.

[0057] 1. Support Support is an indicator of how frequently a set of items (itemset) occurs in a dataset. For example, for a set of all possible observations, a given itemset X has the following support:

number

[0058] In some embodiments, a minimum support level may be defined to ensure that itemsets from which an association rule can arise occur in the dataset with at least a minimum frequency. Since the identification of frequent itemsets is the first step in an association rule mining algorithm, this first step may serve as a first measure of determining the quality of the association rule.

[0059] In some embodiments, determining the association rule quality includes identifying whether the frequency of fragrance ingredient concentrations in the multiple fragrance data sets meets a minimum support level. In some embodiments, determining the association rule quality includes identifying whether the frequency of co-occurring fragrance ingredient concentrations in the multiple fragrance data sets meets a minimum support level. The minimum support level may be selected by a user. In some embodiments, the minimum support level is at least 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 95%. In some embodiments, the minimum support level is at least 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, or 30%. In some embodiments, for example, when using a strategy that first identifies frequent 1-dimensional itemsets to identify frequent n-dimensional, e.g., 2-dimensional itemsets, the minimum support level for each 1-dimensional item is at least 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or 25%. In some embodiments, the minimum support level for each one-dimensional itemset is 5% or at least 5%. In some embodiments, the minimum support level for each one-dimensional itemset is 10% or at least 10%. In some embodiments, the minimum support level is set prior to identifying frequent fragrance ingredient concentrations and / or frequent co-occurring fragrance ingredient concentrations in the multiple fragrance datasets, such that only fragrance ingredient concentrations and frequent co-occurring fragrance ingredient concentrations that meet the minimum support level are used to determine association rules.

[0060] 2. Confidence Association rules may be expressed in the form X⇒Y, where X⊆I, Y⊆I, and X∩Y=Φ. The confidence of an association rule is the conditional probability of given the antecedent X (e.g., fragrance ingredient concentration or concentration combination) when Y (the consequent, e.g., emotional and / or cognitive response) is true. For example, the confidence level of an association rule X⇒Y may be expressed as:

number

[0061] In some embodiments, determining the association rule quality includes determining a confidence level of the association rule and assessing whether the confidence level meets a minimum confidence level. Similar to the minimum support level, an appropriate minimum confidence level may be selected by a user. In some embodiments, the minimum confidence level is at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 95%. In some embodiments, the minimum confidence level is at least 80%, 90%, or 95%.

[0062] 3. Lift The lift of an association rule (e.g., X⇒Y) is a measure of the deviation of the likelihood of the consequent (Y, e.g., emotional and / or cognitive response) from the likelihood under the assumption of independence, given the antecedent (X, e.g., fragrance ingredient concentration or concentration combination), as follows:

number

[0063] In some embodiments, the lift level can be used to determine the directionality of the association rule, e.g., whether a fragrance ingredient concentration or a combination of fragrance ingredient concentrations is independent, beneficial, or detrimental to eliciting an emotional and / or cognitive response. For example, if an association rule has a lift level of 1, it may imply that the probability of occurrence of the antecedent and the consequent are independent of each other, e.g., no rules involving the item set can be derived. A lift level greater than 1 represents the degree to which the occurrences are dependent on each other, while a lift level less than 1 represents that the presence of one item may adversely affect the presence of the other item, and vice versa. In some embodiments, a minimum lift level greater than 1 may be selected by the user to identify rules that include fragrance ingredients that have a positive dependency on each other. It should be appreciated that other lift levels, e.g., lift levels equal to or less than 1, may be selected by the user to assess other relationships, e.g., independent or negative interactions between fragrance ingredients and / or fragrance ingredient combinations. These association rules may also be stored in the database described herein.

[0064] In some embodiments, determining the association rule quality includes determining a lift level of the association rule and assessing whether the lift level meets a minimum lift level. In some embodiments, the minimum lift level is at least 1.05, 1.1, 1.12, 1.13, 1.14, 1.15, 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19, or 1.2. In some embodiments, the minimum lift level is 1.1 or at least 1.1. In some embodiments, the minimum lift level is 1.2 or at least 1.2.

[0065] In some embodiments, the lift level of an association rule is evaluated for robustness. In some embodiments, the lift level must meet a minimum lift level and be robust. In some embodiments, robustness represents the reliability of the calculated lift level of an association rule.

[0066] In some embodiments, the lift level is evaluated for robustness using a non-parametric test. Any non-parametric test suitable for evaluating the lift level known in the art may be used to assess robustness. In some embodiments, the non-parametric test is a permutation test. For the purpose of determining the robustness of the lift level of a specific association rule, the objective may be to verify whether the lift (e.g., theoretical lift) level remains unchanged compared to the lift level calculated for the specific association rule by permuting the results of all association rules with the same consequent, i.e., mental response. Thus, under the null hypothesis, the theoretical lift and the calculated lift level are equal or approximately equal.

[0067] In some embodiments, permutation testing is performed on a given association rule by calculating a lift level for each permutation and dividing the scale of the observed lift level to the calculated lift level of the association rule by the number of permutations to return a p-value. In some embodiments, the number of permutations is at least 5000 or 10,000 or at least 5000 or 10,000. Choosing a suitable number of permutations that meets statistical needs and optimizes computational resources is known in the art. In some embodiments, association rules with p-values ​​less than or equal to alpha are considered robust. In some embodiments, alpha is less than or equal to 0.1, 0.05, or 0.01. In some embodiments, alpha is 0.1. In some embodiments, the lift level of an association rule must meet a minimum lift level and have a p-value less than or equal to 0.01, 0.05, or 0.1 when tested for robustness based on permutation testing. In some embodiments, the lift level of an association rule must meet a minimum lift level and have a p-value less than 0.1 when tested for robustness based on permutation testing.

[0068] In some embodiments, for example, when an association rule corresponds to a fragrance component combination of specific concentrations, the contribution of the fragrance component to the lift level of the association rule may be determined. The contribution of a fragrance component to the lift level may be defined as the deviation of the lift level with the fragrance component from the lift level determined without that component, thus providing an estimate of the contribution of the fragrance component to the association rule. In some embodiments, the contribution of a fragrance component to the lift level is determined by subtracting the lift level of a one-dimensional fragrance component from the lift level determined with the same fragrance component in combination with one or more fragrance components. In some embodiments, the contribution of a fragrance component to the association rule is stored with the association rule, for example in a database. In some embodiments, the contribution of a fragrance component to the association rule is used to formulate a fragrance composition.

[0069] C. Global and Demographic-Specific Association Rules Any target demographic may be subjected to the consumer testing described herein to generate a fragrance dataset for use according to the methods provided herein. In some embodiments, the consumer testing is performed on different ethnic groups, different age groups, different genders, etc. In some embodiments, the consumer testing is performed on different countries. In some embodiments, the consumer testing is performed on different age groups. In some embodiments, the consumer testing is performed on different genders. It is also possible to generate a fragrance dataset for use according to the methods provided herein without specifically testing a target demographic group. The methods provided herein can pool fragrance datasets generated from any consumer testing, such that the association rule mining methods described herein can be performed on pooled fragrance datasets. Thus, the association rule mining methods described herein can identify association rules applicable to a global population. Alternatively, the fragrance dataset can be sorted to generate a fragrance dataset applicable to a target demographic group. In this case, the association rule mining methods described herein can identify association rules applicable to a demographic group.

[0070] The association rules determined according to the methods described herein may result in multiple association rules with different antecedents (e.g., fragrance ingredient concentrations, fragrance ingredient concentration combinations) but eliciting the same emotional and / or cognitive response (consequent). Such a situation may arise due to differences in fragrances tested across all consumer tests. For this reason, a reapplication process may be performed to uniformly assess the association rules. The reapplication process may be performed by identifying association rules applicable to either global or demographic groups and assessing the presence of the association rules in different fragrance datasets, e.g., from new consumer tests. In some embodiments, association rules applicable to a global population may be reapplied to specific demographic groups. In some embodiments, association rules applicable to demographic groups may be reapplied to different demographic groups or pooled fragrance datasets (global). In some embodiments, the reapplication process includes identifying fragrance ingredient concentrations and / or fragrance ingredient concentration combinations of existing association rules in different fragrance datasets and calculating lift levels of emotional and / or cognitive responses. In some embodiments, the reapplication process generates association rules in different fragrance data sets that have the same antecedents and consequents as the original reapplied association rules, further including a lift level for each association rule. In some embodiments, the association rules determined using the reapplication are evaluated as described for any other association rule. In some embodiments, the association rules determined using the reapplication may be stored in a database.

[0071] D. Database Association rules identified according to the methods provided herein may be stored in a database. In some embodiments, the database is configured to store a plurality of association rules using a suitable data storage format and schema. In some embodiments, association rules applicable to demographic groups are stored in the database. In some embodiments, association rules applicable to global populations are stored in the database. In some embodiments, association rules applicable to demographic groups and association rules applicable to global populations are stored in the database.

[0072] The database may be operable and / or searchable. For example, the database may include a query module that allows for the storage of association rules, identification, modification, updating, access, etc. of stored association rules. In some embodiments, a user interface may be used to query the database. For example, the database may be queried to extract all information related to a particular emotional and / or cognitive response, demographic group (e.g., country, age, gender, ethnicity), and / or fragrance ingredient. In some embodiments, the database may be queried to provide association rules of emotional and / or cognitive responses that are applicable to existing fragrances. For example, information about existing fragrance formulations may be used as input to identify association rules that are useful, such as for eliciting a target emotional and / or cognitive response. In some embodiments, information about existing fragrance formulations may be used as input to identify association rules present in fragrances and predict the emotional and / or cognitive states elicited by existing fragrances.

[0073] In some embodiments, the database may include information about fragrance ingredients, such as chemical structures, regulatory information, etc., in addition to association rules related to fragrance ingredients.

[0074] E. System Although the methods provided herein are not dependent on a particular system, a system for use in connection with the methods may have one or more of the features described herein. Figure 3 shows an exemplary system (100) for carrying out the methods described herein, specifically, the method for identifying fragrance ingredients and combinations that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject. It will be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flow chart diagrams (e.g., Figures 1-3), and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flow chart diagrams, respectively, may be implemented by computer program instructions. Such computer program instructions may be loaded into a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device (e.g., a remote server) to produce a machine such that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable data processing device produce means for implementing the functions embodied in one or more of the flow chart blocks.

[0075] In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3, the system (100) may include a computing device (102), which may be, for example, a computer, a handheld device, a number of network-connected computing devices, a number of cloud computing devices, a remote server, etc. Thus, for ease of discussion only and not for purposes of limitation, the computing device (102) is referred to herein using the singular, although in some embodiments, the computing device (102) may include two or more physical devices. In some embodiments, the computing device (102) may be physically located with the person performing the method. In some embodiments, the computing device (102) may be remotely accessible. In some embodiments, the computing device (102) may be a web server located remotely from the person performing the method. The computing device (102) may include at least one processor (e.g., controller, microcontroller, or microprocessor) (114), random access memory (RAM) (116), a user interface (104), a network interface (106), a program memory (110), and input / output (I / O) circuitry (108), each of which may be interconnected via an address / data bus. In some embodiments, the user interface (104) may include a display and input devices including a keyboard and / or a mouse. In some embodiments, the program memory (110) includes at least one tangible non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or device. The at least one tangible non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or device may be configured to store computer-executable instructions (112) that, when executed by the at least one processor (114), cause the computing device (102) to implement the methods described herein, e.g., (10), (12).

[0076] In some embodiments, the instructions (112) include computer-executable steps for performing the association rule mining described herein. In some embodiments, the instructions (112) include a data miner (112A), for example, for identifying frequent fragrance ingredients and / or frequently co-occurring fragrance ingredients in a fragrance dataset. The data miner may be configured to mine information stored on a computer network, for example, the Internet, an intranet, a server farm, a personal computer, etc. In some embodiments, the instructions include a rule generator (112B) for determining one or more association rules from the frequent fragrance ingredients and / or co-occurring fragrance ingredients. One or more other sets of the computer-executable instructions (112) may be executable by the processor (114). In some embodiments, one or more other sets of the computer-executable instructions (112) may be executable by the processor (114) to cause the system (100) to evaluate one or more association rules, store one or more association rules in a database, and / or query a database.

[0077] In some embodiments, instructions stored on a computer readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture that includes computer readable instructions for implementing the association rule mining methods provided herein. The instructions may also be loaded into a computer or other programmable data processing device to cause the computer or other programmable device to perform a series of operational steps resulting in a computer implemented process such that the instructions executing on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the association rule mining methods described herein.

[0078] II. Fragrance Ingredients and Fragrance Compositions that Elicit Emotional and / or Cognitive Responses Also provided herein are fragrance ingredients, fragrance ingredient combinations, fully-formulated fragrances, and accords that elicit one or more emotional and / or cognitive responses in a subject, as determined according to the methods described herein.

[0079] The association rules generated according to the methods described herein offer a unique ability to rapidly and strategically produce fragrance compositions capable of eliciting an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject. The association rules can serve as a guide for fragrance composition development. Thus, also provided herein are fragrance compositions incorporating the association rules generated according to the methods provided herein. In some embodiments, the fragrance compositions are specifically designed to elicit one or more emotional and / or cognitive responses in a subject.

[0080] In some embodiments, the fragrance composition is a new fragrance composition. In some embodiments, the association rules are used to develop new fragrance compositions. For example, the goal may be to produce a fragrance composition that elicits an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject upon exposure. In this case, a database containing the association rules could be queried to identify fragrance ingredient combinations and formulate a fragrance composition based thereon. Furthermore, the query may be refined to identify association rules that are applicable to a global population or demographic group.

[0081] In some embodiments, the fragrance composition is an existing fragrance composition that has been modified so that the concentrations of fragrance components already present in the composition are consistent with the association rules. For example, it may be desirable to incorporate into an existing fragrance composition the ability to induce a target emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject without adding new fragrance components to the fragrance composition. In this case, a database containing the association rules could be queried using the fragrance composition formulation (e.g., the concentrations of fragrance components contained in the fragrance composition) as input, restricting the query to identify association rules that contain the existing fragrance components. In some embodiments, the query may also include the target emotional and / or cognitive response to be incorporated into the fragrance composition. In some embodiments, the query may further include a restriction that identifies association rules that are applicable to a global population or demographic group. In this example, the existing fragrance composition may then be modified to change the concentrations or ratios of the existing components to achieve the desired emotional or cognitive response. In some embodiments, the modification comprises one or more of increasing the concentration of an existing fragrance ingredient, decreasing the concentration of an existing fragrance ingredient, or removing an existing fragrance ingredient from the existing fragrance composition.

[0082] In some embodiments, the fragrance composition is an existing fragrance composition to which fragrance ingredients not present in the existing fragrance composition are added to incorporate the association rules. For example, it may be desirable to incorporate the association rules into an existing fragrance without manipulating the concentrations or ratios of the existing fragrance composition. To achieve this, it may be necessary to add new fragrance ingredients to the existing composition. In this case, a database containing the association rules could be queried using the fragrance composition formulation (e.g., the concentrations of fragrance ingredients contained in the fragrance composition) as input, and restricting the query to identify association rules that contain at least one fragrance ingredient not present in the existing formula.

[0083] In some embodiments, the query may also include a target emotional and / or cognitive response to be incorporated into the fragrance composition. In some embodiments, the query may further include a constraint that identifies an association rule applicable to a global population or demographic group. In this example, the existing fragrance composition may then be modified such that the concentrations or ratios of the existing fragrance ingredients are maintained and new fragrance ingredients are added to achieve the target emotional and / or cognitive response.

[0084] In some embodiments, the fragrance composition is an existing fragrance composition in which fragrance ingredients not present in the existing fragrance composition are added and the existing fragrance ingredients are modified (e.g., reduced or increased in concentration) to incorporate the association rules. For example, it may be desirable to explore the relationships of fragrance ingredients present in the fragrance composition and how to identify new fragrance ingredients and modify the existing fragrance composition. In this case, a database containing the association rules could be queried using the fragrance composition formulation (e.g., the concentration of fragrance ingredients contained in the fragrance composition) as input and restricting the query to identify association rules that contain at least one fragrance ingredient present in the existing formula. In some embodiments, the query may also include a target emotional and / or cognitive response to be incorporated into the fragrance composition. In some embodiments, the query may further include a restriction to identify association rules that are applicable to a global population or demographic group. In this example, the existing fragrance composition may then be modified such that the concentrations of existing fragrance ingredients are maintained, increased, or decreased and new fragrance ingredients are added to achieve the target emotional and / or cognitive response. In some embodiments, the fragrance composition is a fragrance ingredient combination. In some embodiments, the fragrance composition is a fully formulated fragrance. In some embodiments, the fragrance composition is an accord. In some embodiments, the fragrance composition is a schema. In some embodiments, the fragrance composition is a flanker.

[0085] The fragrance compositions and fragrance ingredients provided herein are broadly applicable to any perfumery product, including perfumes and colognes, personal care products, such as soaps, shower gels, and hair care products, fabric care products, air fresheners, and cosmetics. In some embodiments, the fragrance compositions are used to perfume cleaning agents, such as, but not limited to, detergents, dishwashing materials, scrubbing compositions, window cleaners, and the like. In these preparations, the fragrance compositions can be used alone or in combination with other flavoring compositions, solvents, adjuvants, and the like. The nature and types of other ingredients that can be used as well are known to those skilled in the art. Many types of additional fragrances can be used, as long as the fragrance is complementary (i.e., compatible) with the other components used.

[0086] The fragrance compositions and fragrance ingredients provided herein may be suitable for use in a variety of consumer products and may be used as neat fragrance formulations (e.g., in fine fragrances) or may be encapsulated and / or delivered using suitable carrier materials. Some well-known materials include, for example, polymers, oligomers, other non-polymers such as surfactants, emulsifiers, lipids (including fats, waxes, and phospholipids), organic oils, mineral oils, petrolatum, natural oils, perfume fixatives, fibers, starches, sugars, and solid surface materials such as zeolites and silicas.

[0087] In addition to the fragrance composition itself, consumer products containing the fragrance composition are also provided, such as perfumes, colognes, bar soaps, liquid soaps, shower gels, bath foams, cosmetics, skin care products such as creams, lotions, and shaving products, hair care products for shampooing, rinsing, conditioning, bleaching, coloring, dyeing, and styling, deodorants and antiperspirants, feminine care products such as tampons and feminine napkins, baby care products such as diapers, bibs, and wipes, family care products such as toilet paper, facial tissue, paper handkerchiefs, or paper towels, fabric products such as fabric softeners and fresheners, air care products such as Examples of such products may include air fresheners and fragrance delivery systems, cosmetics, cleaning and disinfecting agents such as detergents, dishwashing materials, scrubbing compositions, glass and metal cleaners such as window cleaners, countertop cleaners, floor and carpet cleaners, toilet cleaners, and bleach additives, cleaning agents such as all-purpose, heavy duty, and hand wash or fine fabric cleaners (including laundry detergents and rinse additives), dental and oral hygiene products such as toothpaste, tooth gels, dental floss, denture cleansers, denture adhesives, dentifrices, tooth whitening, and mouthwashes, health care and nutritional products, and foods such as snacks and beverages.

[0088] III. Exemplary Embodiments Among the embodiments provided are the following: 1. A method for producing a fragrance composition that elicits an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject, the method comprising: (a) selecting one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses to be elicited by the fragrance composition; (b) identifying one or more fragrance ingredients and / or one or more fragrance ingredient combinations that elicit the one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses with a plurality of association rules, each association rule corresponding to a fragrance ingredient concentration or a fragrance ingredient concentration combination that elicits an emotional and / or cognitive response in the subject; and (c) formulating into the fragrance composition the one or more fragrance ingredients and / or one or more fragrance ingredient combinations at concentrations that elicit the one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses. 2. The method of embodiment 1, wherein the plurality of association rules are generated by: (a) identifying frequent fragrance component concentrations and / or frequent co-occurring fragrance component concentrations in a plurality of fragrance datasets, each of the plurality of fragrance datasets comprising an emotional and / or cognitive response induced in a subject by exposure to a fragrance and the concentration of each of one or more fragrance components contained in the fragrance; and (b) determining the plurality of association rules based on the frequent fragrance component concentrations and / or frequently co-occurring fragrance component concentrations. 3. The method of embodiment 1 or embodiment 2, wherein the fragrance composition eliciting one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses is applicable to a global population. 4. The method of embodiment 1 or embodiment 2, wherein the fragrance composition eliciting one or more targeted emotional and / or cognitive responses is applicable to a demographic group. 5. The method of any one of embodiments 1-4, wherein the fragrance composition is a new fragrance composition. 6. The method of any one of embodiments 1-4, wherein the fragrance composition is a modified existing fragrance composition. 7. The method of any one of embodiments 1-4 and 6, wherein the fragrance composition is an existing fragrance composition that has been modified by adding a new fragrance ingredient, removing an existing fragrance ingredient, increasing the concentration of an existing fragrance ingredient, decreasing the concentration of an existing fragrance ingredient, or any combination thereof. 8. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the fragrance composition is a fully formulated fragrance or an accord. 9. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the fragrance composition is contained in a consumer product, optionally the consumer product being a household product, a laundry product, a personal care product, a cosmetic, or a fine fragrance. 10. The method of any one of embodiments 1-9, wherein the fragrance composition elicits an emotional and / or cognitive response that correlates with one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses. 11. A method for identifying fragrance components and / or fragrance component combinations that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject, comprising: (a) identifying frequent fragrance component concentrations and / or frequent co-occurring fragrance component concentrations in a plurality of fragrance data sets, each of the plurality of fragrance data sets including an emotional and / or cognitive response elicited in the subject by exposure to the fragrance and a concentration of each of one or more fragrance components contained in the fragrance; and (b) determining one or more association rules based on the frequent fragrance component concentrations and / or frequently co-occurring fragrance component concentrations, each association rule corresponding to a fragrance component concentration or combination of fragrance component concentrations that elicits an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject. 12. The method of any one of embodiments 2-11, wherein the multiple fragrance data sets are generated by conducting consumer testing or receiving consumer testing data. 13. The method according to any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the emotional and / or cognitive responses induced in the subject are determined using declarative and / or physiologically based tests. 14. The emotional and / or cognitive response is: caring, clean, energizing, feminine, fresh, happy, natural, relaxing, sensual, sophisticated, attention, self-esteem, mindfulness, memory, happiness, relaxation, seduction, energy, "provides simple cleaning", "cleans very effectively", "combats and prevents bad odors", "provides soft cleaning", "has sanitizing properties", "provides freshness that restores confidence", "facilitates the cleaning process", "improves energy", "provides protection", "harmless and healthy", "nourishes and moisturizes", "helps to be mindful and relieve tension", "helps to look beautiful", "helps to feel beautiful", "is lifelike", "is unique and up-scaling", "uplifts mood and energy" 14. The method of any one of embodiments 1-13, wherein the therapeutic effect is selected from the group consisting of "makes me feel good", "makes me feel good", "makes me feel enjoyable", "transports me to a place I love", "connects me to nature", "helps me feel good about myself", "loves me", "helps me feel unique and distinctive", "helps me look sophisticated and seductive", "makes me sensual and feminine", "makes me feel fresh and feel good", "a tasteful sign of respect that pleases others", "increases femininity and makes me feel more confident", "makes me feel charming, seductive and elegant", "makes me feel sexy, attractive and appealing", "attracts attention", "makes me feel good and makes me feel better", "makes me feel comfortable, safe and confident" and "makes me feel fresh and clean". 15. The emotional and / or cognitive response of one or more of the goals is / are: caring, clean, energizing, feminine, fresh, happy, natural, relaxing, sensual, sophisticated, attention, self-esteem, mindfulness, memory, happiness, relaxation, seduction, energy, "provides simple cleaning", "cleans very effectively", "combats and prevents bad odors", "provides soft cleaning", "has sanitizing properties", "provides freshness that restores confidence", "facilitates the cleaning process", "improves energy", "provides protection", "harmless and healthy", "nourishes and moisturizes", "helps to be mindful and relieve tension", "helps to look beautiful", "helps to feel beautiful", "is lifelike", "is unique and up-scale", "uplifts mood and increases energy", "provides cleanliness and refreshes the mind ...sing and refreshes the mind", "provides cleansing and refreshes the mind", "provides cleansing and refreshes the mind", "provides cleansing and refresh "makes me feel good", "makes me feel good", "makes me feel fun", "transports me to a place I love", "connects me to nature", "helps me feel good about myself", "I love it", "helps me feel unique and distinctive", "helps me look sophisticated and seductive", "makes me sensual and feminine", "makes me feel fresh and feel good", "a tasteful sign of respect that pleases others", "increases femininity and makes me feel more confident", "makes me feel charming, seductive and elegant", "makes me feel sexy, attractive and appealing", "attracts attention", "makes me feel good and makes me feel better", "makes me feel comfortable, safe and confident" and "makes me feel fresh and clean". 16. The method of any one of embodiments 2-15, wherein the fragrance is a fragrance ingredient, an accord, a schema, or a fully blended fragrance. 17. The method of any one of embodiments 2-16, wherein the frequent fragrance ingredient concentrations and / or the frequent co-occurring fragrance ingredient concentrations meet a minimum support level of at least 5%. 18. The method of any one of embodiments 1-17, wherein each of the association rules satisfies a minimum lift level of at least 1.1. 19. The method of embodiment 18, wherein the lift level is robust based on non-parametric tests, optionally permutation tests. 20. A method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 19, wherein the fragrance component concentrations and / or fragrance component concentration combinations of the association rules are expressed as concentration ranges and / or representative concentrations of each of the fragrance components of the fragrance components or combinations, and the lower and upper limits of the concentration ranges are determined by identifying the lowest and highest concentrations of each of the fragrance components of the fragrance components or combinations that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response. 21. A method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 20, wherein the fragrance component concentration combinations of the association rules are expressed as ranges of ratios of the fragrance components of the combination and / or representative value ratios of the fragrance components of the combination, and the lower and upper limits of the ratio ranges are determined by identifying the lowest and highest concentrations of each of the fragrance components of the combination that elicit an emotional or cognitive response. 22. The method of any one of embodiments 1-21, wherein each of the association rules is applicable to a global population. 23. The method of any one of embodiments 1-21, wherein each of the association rules is applicable to a demographic group. 24. The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 23, wherein each of the association rules is stored in a database. 25. A database comprising a plurality of association rules determined according to the method of any one of embodiments 2-24. 26. A fragrance ingredient, fragrance ingredient combination, fully-blended fragrance, or accord that induces one or more emotional and / or cognitive responses in a subject, wherein the fragrance ingredient, fragrance ingredient combination, fully-blended fragrance, or accord comprises one or more fragrance ingredients or one or more fragrance ingredient combinations determined according to the method of any one of embodiments 2 to 24 or the database of embodiment 25 to induce said emotional or cognitive response. 27. A method for preparing a fully-formulated fragrance or accord that induces an emotional or cognitive response, the method comprising: (a) identifying a fragrance ingredient or a combination of fragrance ingredients that induces a target emotional and / or cognitive response according to the method of any one of embodiments 11 to 24 or the database of embodiment 25; and (b) formulating the fragrance ingredient or combination of fragrance ingredients into the fully-formulated fragrance or accord at a concentration that induces the target emotional and / or cognitive response. 28. A consumer product comprising a fragrance composition produced according to the method of any one of embodiments 1 to 10, a fragrance ingredient, fragrance ingredient combination, fully-blended fragrance, or accord according to embodiment 26, or a fully-blended fragrance or accord prepared according to embodiment 27, wherein the consumer product is a household product, a laundry product, a personal care product, a cosmetic, or a fine fragrance. 29. Use of a fragrance composition produced according to the method of any one of embodiments 1 to 10, a fragrance ingredient, a fragrance ingredient combination, a fully-blended fragrance, an accord, or a fully-blended fragrance or accord prepared according to embodiment 27, or a consumer product according to embodiment 28, to induce one or more emotional and / or cognitive responses in a consumer upon exposure. EXAMPLES

[0089] IV. Working Examples The following examples are included for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

[0090] Example 1: Incorporating Association Rules into a Fragrance Composition This example demonstrates the use of association rules to modify existing fragrance compositions to elicit one or more emotional and / or cognitive responses.

[0091] method Central location paired comparison tests were conducted in three countries: the United States, France, and Brazil (60 consumers / country). Fragrance pairs specific to each country were tested. Each pair included an original fragrance formulation and a modified version of the original fragrance formulation, where the modified version was embedded with one or more country-specific association rules that elicited the target psychological response. The embedded association rules were determined by mining the declarative consumer test data (e.g., free sorting and / or monadic) as described herein (e.g., valid rules met a support level of at least 5%, a lift level of at least 1.1, and lift was determined to be robust).

[0092] The sniff test was carried out using a cotton ball. Consumers were asked to complete a questionnaire (5 pt scale) comparing the fragrance pairs. Sample questions are shown below:

[0093] [Table 1]

[0094] Exemplary methods and results specific to Brazil are presented below, although similar methods and results were obtained in each tested country.

[0095] Table 1 shows the original fragrances and target responses incorporated in Brazil.

[0096] [Table 2]

[0097] To increase the perception of "feeling good and fresh" in the fragrance DARK LOLA, existing related rules A and B were selected. In rule A, citronellol and eugenol were added to the original fragrance formula. To incorporate rule B, the concentration of damascenone was maintained and the concentration of Meth ionone gamma was increased.

[0098] Existing related rules C and D were selected to increase the perception of "prominence" in the fragrance VANITY. In rule C, pepper pink was added to the fragrance formulation and the concentration of citronellol was decreased. In rule D, the concentrations of Muscemor and hexenyl cis-3 acetate were increased.

[0099] result To assess whether the incorporation of association rules into the fragrances increased the target response, each survey response was divided into three categories: (1) consumers who perceived the modified fragrance to be "not much better" or "not much better" than the original fragrance, (2) consumers who perceived the modified and original fragrance formulations to be "the same," and (3) consumers who perceived the modified fragrance to be "a little better" or "a lot better" than the original fragrance. The percentage of consumers in each of the three categories for each question was determined.

[0100] As shown in Tables 2 and 3 below, for both DARK LOLA and VANITY, the incorporation of association rules resulted in a majority of consumers perceiving an increase in the target psychological response compared to the original fragrance formulation.

[0101] [Table 3]

[0102] [Table 4]

[0103] Additionally, increases in mental responses correlated with the target responses were also observed. A similar majority of consumers reported that the modified DARK LOLA fragrance had increases in natural, energizing, relaxing, and happy responses. The modified VANITY fragrance was also reported by a similar majority of consumers to have increased sensual, seductive, and liking responses. An increase in fit responses was also observed with VANITY, likely due to correlation with liking responses.

[0104] These data support the validity and usefulness of the association rules and further illustrate how the association rules can be used to produce fragrance compositions that influence consumer perception.

[0105] Example 2: Incorporating Clean and Upscale Association Rules into a Fragrance Composition This example demonstrates the use of association rules to modify an existing fragrance composition to elicit a "clean" or "upscale and unique" mental response.

[0106] method A central location paired comparison test was conducted in the UK (60 consumers). Each pair included an original fragrance formulation and a modified version of the original fragrance formulation, where the modified version was embedded with country-specific association rules that elicited the target psychological response. The embedded association rules were determined by mining the declarative UK consumer test data (e.g., free sorting and / or monadic) described herein (e.g., valid rules met a support level of at least 5%, a lift level of at least 1.1, and lift was determined to be robust).

[0107] The test was conducted using damp towels washed with a fabric conditioner containing the fragrance composition. Consumers were asked to complete a questionnaire (5 pt scale) comparing the fragrance pairs. Example questions are shown below:

[0108] [Table 5]

[0109] Table 4 shows the original fragrances incorporated and the target psychological responses.

[0110] [Table 6]

[0111] To increase the perception of "clean" in the fragrance COMFORT GOLD, existing related rules A and B were selected. In rule A, Galbascone was added and the concentration of Damascenone was decreased. To incorporate rule B, Patchouli oil was added and the concentration of Citronellol was increased.

[0112] To increase the perception of "upscale and unique" in the fragrance PURESSENCE, existing related rules C and D were selected. For rule C, Muscemor and Operanide were added to the original fragrance formula. To incorporate rule D, Ylanganate was added to the original fragrance formula.

[0113] result To assess whether the incorporation of association rules into the fragrances increased the target response, each survey response was divided into three categories: (1) consumers who perceived the modified fragrance to be "not much better" or "not much better" than the original fragrance, (2) consumers who perceived the modified and original fragrance formulations to be "the same," and (3) consumers who perceived the modified fragrance to be "a little better" or "a lot better" than the original fragrance. The percentage of consumers in each of the three categories for each question was determined.

[0114] As shown in Tables 5 and 6 below, for both COMFORT GOLD and PURESSENCE, the incorporation of relevance rules resulted in a majority of consumers perceiving an increase in the target psychological response compared to the original fragrance formulation.

[0115] [Table 7]

[0116] [Table 8]

[0117] Additionally, increases in psychological responses correlated to the target responses were also observed. Consumers reported that the modified COMFORT GOLD fragrance had increased liking, protection, and fresh responses. The modified PURESSENCE fragrance was also reported by consumers to have increased liking, clean, satisfying, protection, and fresh responses.

[0118] These data support the validity and utility of association rules to influence consumer psychological responses not only to neat fragrances but also to consumer fragrances and products. These results further support the ability of the present method to elicit emotional and / or cognitive responses in a demographically specific manner.

[0119] The present invention is not intended to be limited in scope to the specific disclosed embodiments, which are provided, for example, to illustrate various aspects of the invention. Various modifications to the described compositions and methods will become apparent from the description and teachings herein. Such variations can be practiced without departing from the true scope and spirit of the present disclosure, and are intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present disclosure. Although the present invention may be described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the claimed invention should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described embodiments of the invention that are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. 1. A method for producing a fragrance composition that elicits an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject, said method comprising: (a) selecting one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses to be elicited by a fragrance composition; (b) identifying one or more fragrance ingredients and / or one or more fragrance ingredient combinations that elicit the one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses with a plurality of association rules, each association rule corresponding to a fragrance ingredient concentration or a fragrance ingredient concentration combination that elicits an emotional and / or cognitive response in the subject; (c) incorporating said one or more fragrance ingredients and / or one or more fragrance ingredient combinations into said fragrance composition at concentrations that elicit said one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses; A method comprising:

2. The plurality of association rules: (a) identifying frequent fragrance component concentrations and / or frequently co-occurring fragrance component concentrations in a plurality of fragrance datasets, each of the plurality of fragrance datasets comprising an emotional and / or cognitive response elicited in a subject by exposure to a fragrance and a concentration of each of one or more fragrance components contained in the fragrance; (b) determining the plurality of association rules based on the frequently occurring fragrance ingredient concentrations and / or the frequently co-occurring fragrance ingredient concentrations; The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal is generated by:

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fragrance composition that elicits the one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses is applicable to a global population.

4. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the fragrance composition that elicits the one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses is applicable to a demographic group.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fragrance composition is a new fragrance composition.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fragrance composition is a pre-existing fragrance composition.

7. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the fragrance composition is an existing fragrance composition and the compounding comprises modifying the existing fragrance by adding new fragrance ingredients, removing existing fragrance ingredients, increasing the concentration of existing fragrance ingredients, decreasing the concentration of existing fragrance ingredients, or any combination thereof.

8. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the fragrance composition is a fully formulated fragrance or accord.

9. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the fragrance composition is contained in a consumer product, the consumer product being a household product, a fabric care product, a personal care product, a cosmetic, or a fine fragrance.

10. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the fragrance composition elicits an emotional and / or cognitive response that correlates with the one or more target emotional and / or cognitive responses.

11. (a) identifying frequent fragrance component concentrations and / or frequently co-occurring fragrance component concentrations in a plurality of fragrance datasets, each of the plurality of fragrance datasets comprising an emotional and / or cognitive response elicited in a subject by exposure to a fragrance and a concentration of each of one or more fragrance components contained in the fragrance; (b) determining one or more association rules based on the frequently occurring fragrance ingredient concentrations and / or the frequently co-occurring fragrance ingredient concentrations, each association rule corresponding to a fragrance ingredient concentration or combination of fragrance ingredient concentrations that elicits the emotional and / or cognitive response; 1. A method for identifying fragrance ingredients and / or fragrance ingredient combinations that elicit an emotional and / or cognitive response in a subject, comprising:

12. 12. The method of claim 1, 2, or 11, wherein the plurality of fragrance data sets are generated by conducting consumer tests or receiving consumer test data.

13. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the emotional and / or cognitive responses evoked in the subject are determined using declarative and / or physiologically based tests.

14. 12. The method of claim 2 or 11, wherein the fragrance is a fragrance ingredient, an accord, a schema, or a fully formulated fragrance.

15. 12. The method of claim 2 or 11, wherein the frequently occurring fragrance ingredient concentrations and / or frequently co-occurring fragrance ingredient concentrations meet a minimum support level of at least 5%.

16. The method of claim 1 , 2 or 11 , wherein each of the association rules satisfies a minimum lift level of at least 1.

1.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the lift level is robust based on non-parametric tests.

18. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the fragrance component concentrations and / or the fragrance component concentration combinations of the association rules are expressed as concentration ranges and / or representative values ​​of each of the fragrance components or fragrance components of the combination, and the lower and upper limits of the concentration ranges are determined by identifying the lowest and highest concentrations of each of the fragrance components or fragrance components of the combination that elicit the emotional and / or cognitive response.

19. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the fragrance ingredient concentration combinations of the association rules are expressed as ranges of ratios of the fragrance ingredients of the combinations and / or representative value ratios of the fragrance ingredients of the combinations, and the lower and upper limits of the ratio ranges are determined by identifying the lowest and highest concentrations of each of the fragrance ingredients of the combinations that elicit the emotional or cognitive response.

20. 12. The method of claim 1, 2 or 11, wherein each of the association rules is applicable to a global population and / or a demographic group.

21. The method of claim 1 , 2 or 11 , wherein each of the association rules is stored in a database.

22. A database comprising a plurality of association rules determined according to the method of claim 2 or 11.

23. A fragrance ingredient, fragrance ingredient combination, fully formulated fragrance, or accord that elicits one or more emotional and / or cognitive responses in a subject, wherein the fragrance ingredient, fragrance ingredient combination, fully formulated fragrance, or accord comprises one or more fragrance ingredients or one or more fragrance ingredient combinations determined according to the method of claim 11 to elicit the emotional or cognitive response.

24. 1. A method for preparing a fully blended fragrance or accord that elicits an emotional or cognitive response, said method comprising: (a) identifying a fragrance ingredient or fragrance ingredient combination that elicits a target emotional and / or cognitive response according to the method of claim 11; (b) formulating said fragrance ingredient or fragrance ingredient combination into a fully formulated fragrance or accord at a concentration that elicits said target emotional and / or cognitive response; A method comprising:

25. 25. A consumer product comprising a fragrance composition produced according to the method of claim 1, a fragrance ingredient, fragrance ingredient combination, fully formulated fragrance, or accord according to claim 23, or a fully formulated fragrance or accord prepared according to claim 24, wherein the consumer product is a household product, a fabric care product, a personal care product, a cosmetic, or a fine fragrance.

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