How humans distinguish between smells: A biological, molecular and psychological investigation into olfactory function

Human olfactory psychophysics

Of all the senses, smell is the least understood. Despite centuries of investigation, science can still offer no satisfying theory for why a particular substance smells the way it does. Nor do we understand in any detail how we are able to distinguish the smell of a peach from that of an apricot, or how a particular smell can trigger longforgotten memories of a distant time or place. Human olfa...

Nasal Cavity Brain Olfactory Bulb Olfactory Bulb Olfactory Epithelium Vomeronasal Organ

tive sense. In Marcel ProustÕs novel Remembrance of Things Past, the nostalgic ßavor and fragrance of a madeleine, a delicate pastry, evokes a description of taste and smell, the senses that Òalone, more fragile but more enduring, more unsubstantial, more persistent. . . bear unßinchingly, in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their essence, the vast structure of recollection.Ó Humans often...

Olfactory dysfunction in persian patients suffering from parkinson's disease

BACKGROUND Looking in literature reveals that aging is accompanied by olfactory dysfunction and hyposmia/anosmia is a common manifestation in some neurodegenerative disorders. Olfactory dysfunction is regarded as non-motor manifestations of Parkinson disease (PD). The main goal of this study was to examine the extent of olfactory dysfunction in Persian PD patients. METHODS We used seven types...

Humans and Mice Express Similar Olfactory Preferences

In humans, the pleasantness of odors is a major contributor to social relationships and food intake. Smells evoke attraction and repulsion responses, reflecting the hedonic value of the odorant. While olfactory preferences are known to be strongly modulated by experience and learning, it has been recently suggested that, in humans, the pleasantness of odors may be partly explained by the physic...

Smells like safe sex: olfactory pathogen primes increase intentions to use condoms.