A Life Without Smell: Olfactory Function in People Working in Odorless Rooms

Chen, B.; Boesen, A.; Olesch, F. T.; Hummel, T.

doi:10.1002/lary.31015

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Taking into account that adolescents with migraine are less likely to seek sensory input than their healthy peers [ 38 ], it is plausible that children who are overly sensitive to smells try to avoid olfactory inputs and spend time in odor-free environments. Such avoidance might lead to an impaired olfactory threshold in adulthood as research shows that a large number of odors spotted in one’s environment boost olfactory abilities [ 39 ] whereas functioning in odorless conditions diminishes olfactory sensitivity [ 40 , 41 ]. This hypothesis requires verification in longitudinal studies that would follow changes in the olfactory thresholds of individuals with primary headache from childhood to adulthood.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children and adolescents with primary headaches exhibit altered sensory profiles – a multi-modal investigation

Pieniak,

Höfer,

Knipping

et al. 2024

J Headache Pain

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Background Pediatric headache is an increasing medical problem that has adverse effects on children’s quality of life, academic performance, and social functioning. Children with primary headaches exhibit enhanced sensory sensitivity compared to their healthy peers. However, comprehensive investigations including multimodal sensory sensitivity assessment are lacking. This study aimed to compare sensory sensitivity of children with primary headaches with their healthy peers across multiple sensory domains. Methods The study included 172 participants aged 6 to 17 years (M = 13.09, SD = 3.02 years; 120 girls). Of these 80 participants were patients with migraine, 23 were patients with tension-type headache, and 69 were healthy controls. The following sensory measures were obtained: Mechanical Detection Threshold (MDT), Mechanical Pain Threshold (MPT), Mechanical Pain Sensitivity (MPS), detection and pain threshold for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS), olfactory and intranasal trigeminal detection threshold, and odor identification ability. Sensory sensitivity was compared between groups with a series of Kruskal-Wallis tests. Binomial regression models were used to compare the relative utility of sensory sensitivity measures in classifying participants into patients and healthy controls, as well as into patients with migraine and tension-type headache. Results Patients with migraine had lower MPT measured at the forearm than patients with tension-type headaches and healthy controls. MPS was higher in patients with migraine than in healthy controls. All patients with headaches had lower detection threshold of TENS and higher olfactory sensitivity. Healthy controls showed increased intranasal trigeminal sensitivity. Scores in MPS, TENS, and olfactory and trigeminal thresholds were significantly predicting presence of primary headaches. Additionally, scores in MPT, olfactory and trigeminal threshold were positive predictors of type of headache. Conclusions Children with primary headaches exhibit different sensory profiles than healthy controls. The obtained results suggest presence of increased overall, multimodal sensitivity in children with primary headaches, what may negatively impact daily functioning and contribute to further pain chronification. Trial registration The study was registered in the German Registry of Clinical Trials (DRKS) DRKS00021062.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children and adolescents with primary headaches exhibit altered sensory profiles – a multi-modal investigation

Pieniak,

Höfer,

Knipping

et al. 2024

J Headache Pain

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“…Despite the many deleterious effects documented above, we know of only two studies, at the behavioral level, showing an olfactory deficit following deprivation [36,80]. In one study, human subjects were randomly assigned to one of two modes of deprivation: Wearing a "filtering mask", or a nasal appliance designed to shunt inhaled air directly toward the throat and away from the olfactory mucosa.…”

Section: Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of the Stimulus in Olfactory Plasticity

Coppola,

Reisert

2023

Brain Sciences

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Plasticity, the term we use to describe the ability of a nervous system to change with experience, is the evolutionary adaptation that freed animal behavior from the confines of genetic determinism. This capacity, which increases with brain complexity, is nowhere more evident than in vertebrates, especially mammals. Though the scientific study of brain plasticity dates back at least to the mid-19th century, the last several decades have seen unprecedented advances in the field afforded by new technologies. Olfaction is one system that has garnered particular attention in this realm because it is the only sensory modality with a lifelong supply of new neurons, from two niches no less! Here, we review some of the classical and contemporary literature dealing with the role of the stimulus or lack thereof in olfactory plasticity. We have restricted our comments to studies in mammals that have used dual tools of the field: stimulus deprivation and stimulus enrichment. The former manipulation has been implemented most frequently by unilateral naris occlusion and, thus, we have limited our comments to research using this technique. The work reviewed on deprivation provides substantial evidence of activity-dependent processes in both developing and adult mammals at multiple levels of the system from olfactory sensory neurons through to olfactory cortical areas. However, more recent evidence on the effects of deprivation also establishes several compensatory processes with mechanisms at every level of the system, whose function seems to be the restoration of information flow in the face of an impoverished signal. The results of sensory enrichment are more tentative, not least because of the actual manipulation: What odor or odors? At what concentrations? On what schedule? All of these have frequently not been sufficiently rationalized or characterized. Perhaps it is not surprising, then, that discrepant results are common in sensory enrichment studies. Despite this problem, evidence has accumulated that even passively encountered odors can “teach” olfactory cortical areas to better detect, discriminate, and more efficiently encode them for future encounters. We discuss these and other less-established roles for the stimulus in olfactory plasticity, culminating in our recommended “aspirations” for the field going forward.

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Development of a virtual reality spacecraft environment as a ground-based analog for collecting space food sensory data (‘Food in Space’)

Low,

Loke

2024

Science Talks

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A Life Without Smell: Olfactory Function in People Working in Odorless Rooms

Cited by 5 publications

References 37 publications

Children and adolescents with primary headaches exhibit altered sensory profiles – a multi-modal investigation

Children and adolescents with primary headaches exhibit altered sensory profiles – a multi-modal investigation

The Role of the Stimulus in Olfactory Plasticity

Development of a virtual reality spacecraft environment as a ground-based analog for collecting space food sensory data (‘Food in Space’)

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