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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
HUANG Yun, PENG Zhu
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DOI:10.17265/2159-5836/2026.08.011
Senior Engineer, China Yuxi Normal University, Yuxi, China
This paper aims to transcend the conventional pharmacological paradigm of agarwood intervention in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). From a humanistic and social science perspective, it explores how agarwood, as a culturally significant sensory medium, constructs novel relationships and experiences within specific caregiving contexts. Grounded in sensory anthropology, phenomenology of the body, and medical humanities, and integrating the established neuropharmacological activities of agarwood, this study proposes that the core value of its “aroma-assisted therapy” lies not only in its multi-target molecular effects, but more profoundly in its role as a nonverbal, embodied communication medium. Such a medium can reshape the bodily experience of AD patients and foster emotional connection between caregivers and patients beyond the barriers of language. Through a systematic review of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) cultural implications and modern pharmacological evidence of agarwood, situated within the theoretical frameworks of non-pharmacological interventions and sensory stimulation therapy, this paper argues that the introduction of agarwood aroma can construct a shared sensory environment within care spaces. This, in turn, alleviates behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), improves the quality of interpersonal interaction, and offers new insights for developing culturally rooted, person-centered dementia care models.
Alzheimer’s disease, agarwood, sensory anthropology, bodily practice, nonverbal communication, emotional labor, humanistic care
Journal of Literature and Art Studies, August 2026, Vol. 16, No. 8, 705-711
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