Temporal and Spatial Pattern Analysis of Brain Electrical Responses Induced by Four Representative Essential Oil Active Components

ABSTRACT

This study employed 32‐channel electroencephalography (EEG) to systematically investigate the spatiotemporal patterns of brain electrical responses in healthy participants naturally exposed to four essential oil components: myrcene, limonene, bornyl acetate, β‐caryophyllene. Results showed that all four compounds induced a sedative‐anxiolytic electrophysiological profile characterized by dominant α waves and elevated α/β ratios, yet each exhibited distinct spatiotemporal features: limonene triggered rapid prefrontal activation, myrcene elicited mild and sustained whole‐brain responses, bornyl acetate produced late‐stage widespread high activation and β‐caryophyllene showed strong responses in the parieto‐occipital regions. The findings provide objective physiological evidence for the anxiolytic effects of essential oil components and support personalized intervention strategies based on individual EEG activity.