Olfactory Sensitivity: Reliability, Generality, and Association With Aging

Thirty-two Ss between 22 and 59 years of age yielded detection thresholds for 4 odorants over 4 sessions. The thresholds decreased and reliability increased over the course of testing. High intercorrelations between odorants and the stability of an S's relative position within the threshold dis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance 1991-05, Vol.17 (2), p.382-391
Main Authors: Cain, William S, Gent, Janneane F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age Differences
Aging & longevity
Aging - psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Generalization, Stimulus
Human
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Odorants
Olfaction Disorders - diagnosis
Olfaction Disorders - psychology
Olfaction. Taste
Olfactory Stimulation
Olfactory Thresholds
Perception
Perceptions
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Reference Values
Sensory Thresholds
Smell
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Summary:Thirty-two Ss between 22 and 59 years of age yielded detection thresholds for 4 odorants over 4 sessions. The thresholds decreased and reliability increased over the course of testing. High intercorrelations between odorants and the stability of an S's relative position within the threshold distributions showed that a general factor of sensitivity dominated the outcome. Age contributed strongly to intersubject variation. Even among these nonelderly individuals, it accounted for up to 2 orders of magnitude in threshold performance. Other important factors included superiority of the right nostril and a negative correlation between the mean and variance of threshold distributions. Scant attention to the correlation may have contributed to overestimation of the frequency and specificity of specific anosmia. A clinically relevant outcome was that measurement of threshold for diagnostic purposes can generally rely on just 1 odorant.
ISSN:0096-1523
1939-1277
DOI:10.1037/0096-1523.17.2.382