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 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.
Cain
W S
WS
John B. Pierce Laboratory, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06519.
Gent
J F
JF
D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005795:Generalization, Stimulus; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009812:Odorants; D000857:Olfaction Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D012016:Reference Values; D012684:Sensory Thresholds; D012903:Smell