Correlation analysis of flow parameters in the olfactory cleft and olfactory function

Abstract

The olfaction is related to flow in the olfactory cleft. However, There is a lack of studies on the relationship between flow characteristics of the olfactory cleft and olfactory function. In this study, the anatomical structure of the olfactory cleft was reconstructed in three dimensions using the raw data obtained from the CT scans of sinuses of 32 enrolled volunteers. The Sniffin’ Sticks test was used to examine the olfaction. We investigated the correlation between airflow parameters and olfactory function of the olfactory cleft in healthy adults by the computational fluid dynamics method. We found that three parameters, airflow, airflow velocity, and airflow ratio, were highly positively correlated with olfactory function. The mean pressure was not correlated with the olfactory function. Furthermore, there is the strongest correlation between air flow through the olfactory cleft and olfactory function. The correlation between the mean velocity in the anterior olfactory cleft region and olfaction was relatively poor, while the airflow velocity at the posterior olfactory cleft region was enhanced gradually. The correlation between the airflow ratio and olfaction was optimal in the initial position of superior turbinate. The flow parameters in the posterior olfactory cleft area were more stable.

The Human Nose as a Chemical Sensor in the Perception of Coffee Aroma: Individual Variability

“…The Pearson correlation test was used to evaluate the relationship between: (a) the total number of odor-active compounds (hereafter, total-compounds) or the number of odor-active compounds smelling of coffee (hereafter, coffee-compounds) smelled by each subject and his/her TDI olfactory score; (b) the intensity perceived by each subject for the pen of the identification test containing the coffee aroma (hereafter, the coffee-odor pen) and his/her TDI olfactory score, (c) the number of total-and coffee-molecules smelled and the intensity perceived for the coffee-odor pen by each subject, (d) the reported average intensity for total-and coffee-molecules and the perceived intensity for the coffee-odor pen by each subject. The correlation coefficient "r" was considered to measure the strength of the linear relationship or straight-line between two variables: r < 0.3 means lower correlation, 0.3 < r < 0.7 means medium correlation, r > 0.7 means higher correlation [72,73]. Statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism 6 (GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA, USA).…”

Correlations between gustatory, trigeminal, and olfactory functions and nasal airflow

“…However, our sample was comprised of healthy individuals and it is possible that this relationship between olfaction and airflow was not clearly depicted in this population. Also, although a relationship between olfaction and airflow through the olfactory cleft has been mentioned previously in literature [ 62 , 63 ], PNIF measures airflow through the entire nasal cavity and not only to the olfactory cleft on maximal inspiration, and may also be confounded by the influence of lung function. For these reasons, we may not have observed a correlation between the two tests.…”