Olfactory lateralization: Odor intensity but not the hedonic estimation is lateralized

Thuerauf, Norbert; Gossler, Andrea; Lunkenheimer, Jens; Lunkenheimer, Birgit; Maihöfner, Christian; Bleich, Stefan; Kornhuber, Johannes; Markovic, Katrin; Reulbach, Udo

doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2008.04.038

Cited by 26 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Interestingly, a lateralization in favour of the right nostril has also been demonstrated in humans, particularly in evaluating odour intensity (Thuerauf et al, 2008) and in olfactory detection and discrimination (Kobal et al, 2000;Zatorre and Jones-Gotman, 1990).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Olfactory lateralization in homing pigeons: a GPS study on birds released with unilateral olfactory inputs

Gagliardo

Filannino

Ioalè

et al. 2011

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYA large body of evidence has shown that pigeons rely on an olfactory-based navigational map when homing from unfamiliar locations. Previous studies on pigeons released with one nostril occluded highlighted an asymmetry in favour of the right nostril, particularly concerning the initial orientation performance of naïve birds. Nevertheless, all pigeons experiencing only unilateral olfactory input showed impaired homing, regardless of the side of the occluded nostril. So far this phenomenon has been documented only by observing the birds' vanishing bearings. In the present work we recorded the flight tracks of pigeons with previous homing experience equipped with a GPS data logger and released from an unfamiliar location with the right or the left nostril occluded. The analysis of the tracks revealed that the flight path of the birds with the right nostril occluded was more tortuous than that of unmanipulated controls. Moreover, the pigeons smelling with the left nostril interrupted their journey significantly more frequently and displayed more exploratory activity than the control birds, e.g. during flights around a stopover site. These data suggest a more important involvement of the right olfactory system in processing the olfactory information needed for the operation of the navigational map.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Olfactory lateralization in homing pigeons: a GPS study on birds released with unilateral olfactory inputs

Gagliardo

Filannino

Ioalè

et al. 2011

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Although not a typical thalamocortical sensory system, the olfactory system may also demonstrate asymmetry, especially in humans (Bellas et al 1989;Zucco & Tressoldi, 1989;Zatorre et al 1992;Jones-Gotman & Zatorre, 1993;Herz et al 1999;Brand & Jacquot, 2001;Royet & Plailly, 2004;Thuerauf et al 2008;Hudry et al 2014). The canonical olfactory pathway begins with olfactory sensory neurons in the nose.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic cortical lateralization during olfactory discrimination learning

Cohen

Putrino

Wilson

2015

The Journal of Physiology

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Bilateral cortical circuits are not necessarily symmetrical. Asymmetry, or cerebral lateralization, allows functional specialization of bilateral brain regions and has been described in humans for such diverse functions as perception, memory and emotion. There is also evidence for asymmetry in the human olfactory system, although evidence in non-human animal models is lacking. In the present study, we took advantage of the known changes in olfactory cortical local field potentials that occur over the course of odour discrimination training to test for functional asymmetry in piriform cortical activity during learning. Both right and left piriform cortex local field potential activities were recorded. The results obtained demonstrate a robust interhemispheric asymmetry in anterior piriform cortex activity that emerges during specific stages of odour discrimination learning, with a transient bias toward the left hemisphere. This asymmetry is not apparent during error trials. Furthermore, functional connectivity (coherence) between the bilateral anterior piriform cortices is learning- and context-dependent. Steady-state interhemispheric anterior piriform cortex coherence is reduced during the initial stages of learning and then recovers as animals acquire competent performance. The decrease in coherence is seen relative to bilateral coherence expressed in the home cage, which remains stable across conditioning days. Similarly, transient, trial-related interhemispheric coherence increases with task competence. Taken together, the results demonstrate transient asymmetry in piriform cortical function during odour discrimination learning until mastery, suggesting that each piriform cortex may contribute something unique to odour memory.

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“…Moreover, an age-related decline in odor identification was present on the right, but not on the left, side of the nose in this combined group. While previous odor identification studies have not observed such laterality in either healthy subjects or patients with neurological diseases (for example [60–63]), superior right-side performance has been noted in healthy subjects for several other types of suprathreshold tests, including a same-different odor discrimination task [57] and tests of odorant intensity [29, 64]. It is conceivable that, in our study, the greater range of test scores on the right side of the nose made it easier to unmask the age-related deficit known to occur in most odor identification studies [22, 65].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is evidence from functional imaging and psychophysical studies that the right hemisphere may be more involved in olfactory processing than the left [27–29]. In the case of MS, an impaired cortical network has been found whose nexus is within the right hemisphere [30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unilateral olfactory sensitivity in multiple sclerosis

Good

Tourbier

Moberg

et al. 2017

Physiology & Behavior

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It is not known whether lateralized olfactory sensitivity deficits are present in MS. Since projections from the olfactory bulb to the olfactory cortex are largely ipsilateral, and since both functional imaging and psychophysical studies suggest that the right side of the brain may be more involved in olfactory processing than the left, we addressed this issue by administering well-validated tests of odor detection, along with tests of odor identification, to each side of the nose of 73 MS patients and 73 age-, gender-, and race-matched normal controls. We also determined, in 63 of the MS patients, whether correlations were present between the olfactory test measures and MRI-determined lesions in brain regions ipsilateral and contralateral to the nose side that was tested. No significant left:right differences in either olfactory sensitivity or identification were present, although in both cases mean performance was lower in the MS than in the control subjects (ps < 0.0001). Scores on the two sides of the nose were positively correlated with one another (identification r = 0.71, p < 0.0001; threshold r = 0.56, p < 0.0001). The percent of MS patients whose bilateral test scores fell below the 10th percentile of controls did not differ between the odor identification and detection threshold tests. Both left and right odor identification and detection test scores were weakly correlated with lesion volumes in temporal and frontal lobe brain regions (r’s < 0.40). Our findings demonstrate that MS does not differentially influence odor perception on left and right sides of the nose, regardless of whether sensitivity or identification is being measured. They also indicate that tests of odor identification and detection are similarly influenced by MS and that such influences are associated with central brain lesions.

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Olfactory lateralization: Odor intensity but not the hedonic estimation is lateralized

Cited by 26 publications

References 25 publications

Olfactory lateralization in homing pigeons: a GPS study on birds released with unilateral olfactory inputs

Olfactory lateralization in homing pigeons: a GPS study on birds released with unilateral olfactory inputs

Dynamic cortical lateralization during olfactory discrimination learning

Unilateral olfactory sensitivity in multiple sclerosis

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