The effect of appropriate and inappropriate stimulus color on odor discrimination

Odor discrimination is a complex task that may be improved by increasing sampling time to facilitate evidence accumulation. However, experiments testing this phenomenon in olfaction have produced conflicting results. To resolve this disparity, Frederick et al. (Frederick DE, Brown A, Tacopina S, Mehta N, Vujovic M, Brim E, Amina T, Fixsen B, Kay LM. J Neurosci 37: 4416–4426, 2017) conducted experiments that suggest that sampling time and performance are task dependent. Their findings have implications for understanding olfactory processing and experimental design, specifically the effect of subtle differences in experimental design on study results.

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Clinical effects of two combinations of olfactory agents on olfactory dysfunction after upper respiratory tract infection during olfactory training

Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira ◽

10.1590/1806-9282.66.1.18 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 66 (1) ◽

pp. 18-24 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Xiao-Feng Qiao ◽

Yin-Huan Bai ◽

Guo-Ping Wang ◽

Xin Li ◽

Wei Zheng

Keyword(s):

Tract Infection ◽

Respiratory Tract ◽

Respiratory Tract Infection ◽

Therapeutic Effect ◽

Odor Discrimination ◽

Olfactory Dysfunction ◽

Clinical Effects ◽

Upper Respiratory Tract ◽

Upper Respiratory ◽

Olfactory Training

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE To compare two combinations of olfactory agents for olfactory training therapy of olfactory dysfunction after upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) and investigate the influencing factors on clinical effects. METHODS 125 patients with olfactory dysfunction were randomly divided into two groups: test and control. During the olfactory training, four odors were used in both groups. The olfactory training lasted for 24 weeks. Then, participants were tested using Sniffin’ Sticks and threshold-discrimination-identification (TDI) composite scoring before treatment and at 1, 3, and 6 months after treatment. The TDI scores were compared at different time points between the groups and within them, and influence factors were analyzed. RESULTS There was no significant difference in TDI scores between both groups. Furthermore, TDI scores did not significantly change after one month of treatment in either of the groups. After 3 and 6 months of treatment, TDI scores both significantly increased, and the odor discrimination and identification abilities significantly strengthened in both groups; however, the odor thresholds did not improve. The course of the disease was a significant influencing factor on the therapeutic effect of olfactory training for both groups. CONCLUSION The combination of essential balm, vinegar, alcohol, and rose perfume for olfactory training, which are scents commonly found in daily life, can effectively cure URTI-induced olfactory dysfunction, and significantly improve the odor discrimination and identification abilities. Furthermore, prolonging the treatment time can help with the recovery of olfactory functions, and earlier olfactory training can improve the therapeutic effect.

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