Development of a fully automated system for delivering odors in an MRI environment

Cuevas, Isabel; Gérard, Benoît; Plaza, Paula; Lerens, Elodie; Collignon, Olivier; Grandin, Cécile; Volder, Anne De; Renier, Laurent

doi:10.3758/brm.42.4.1072

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A computer-controlled, MRI-compatible odor delivery system [46] was used as olfactory stimulator that allowed birhinal and timed delivery of each odor in synchrony with MRI sequences and participant’s inspiration phase.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Right Occipital Cortex Activation Correlates with Superior Odor Processing Performance in the Early Blind

et al. 2013

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in ten early blind humans, we found robust occipital activation during two odor-processing tasks (discrimination or categorization of fruit and flower odors), as well as during control auditory-verbal conditions (discrimination or categorization of fruit and flower names). We also found evidence for reorganization and specialization of the ventral part of the occipital cortex, with dissociation according to stimulus modality: the right fusiform gyrus was most activated during olfactory conditions while part of the left ventral lateral occipital complex showed a preference for auditory-verbal processing. Only little occipital activation was found in sighted subjects, but the same right-olfactory/left-auditory-verbal hemispheric lateralization was found overall in their brain. This difference between the groups was mirrored by superior performance of the blind in various odor-processing tasks. Moreover, the level of right fusiform gyrus activation during the olfactory conditions was highly correlated with individual scores in a variety of odor recognition tests, indicating that the additional occipital activation may play a functional role in odor processing.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Right Occipital Cortex Activation Correlates with Superior Odor Processing Performance in the Early Blind

et al. 2013

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The main part of the device and the computer remain outside the fMRI room, whereas the five nylon channels are passed to the fMRI room through a conventional security hole. Adapted from Cuevas et al (2010a). …”

Section: Functional Neuroimaging Of Odor Processing In Blind Humansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cortical Plasticity and Olfactory Function in Early Blindness

Araneda

Renier

Rombaux

et al. 2016

Front. Syst. Neurosci.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Over the last decade, functional brain imaging has provided insight to the maturation processes and has helped elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in brain plasticity in the absence of vision. In case of congenital blindness, drastic changes occur within the deafferented “visual” cortex that starts receiving and processing non visual inputs, including olfactory stimuli. This functional reorganization of the occipital cortex gives rise to compensatory perceptual and cognitive mechanisms that help blind persons achieve perceptual tasks, leading to superior olfactory abilities in these subjects. This view receives support from psychophysical testing, volumetric measurements and functional brain imaging studies in humans, which are presented here.

show abstract

“…In the cases of vision and audition, scientists can spend a few thousand dollars to obtain a projection or amplification system that generates stimuli within the imaging environment at a resolution close to that of the sensory system in question. Olfactometers are typically home (lab)-built; a good one can cost tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars to construct (although cheaper designs are possible; Cuevas et al, 2010;Johnson & Sobel, 2007;Lundstrom, Gordon, Alden, Boesveldt, & Albrecht, 2010;Sezille et al, 2013;Sobel et al, 1997;Sommer et al, 2012), and frankly, at the end of the day, they are not very good. Odor stimuli are generated using machines called olfactometers (although they typically do not meter anything) (Figure 1).…”

Section: Methodological Considerations In Fmri Of Human Olfactionmentioning

confidence: 99%