title: Evidence for the temporal processing of odor mixtures in humans.
abstract: The neural mechanisms underlying the perception of complex odor mixtures are largely unknown. The present study investigated the hypothesis that odorants in a mixture are processed and perceived in series. The results indicate that (i) odorants in mixtures are temporally processed with up to several hundred milliseconds separating individual components; (ii) 'fast' odorants are more likely to be a suppressor of 'slow' odorants than the reverse; and (iii) separation times can be altered by changing the concentrations of mixture components. These findings provide a new mechanism to account for the limited ability of humans to identify odorants in mixtures and for odor suppression.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Western Sydney, Richmond, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Laing
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eddy
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Francis
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Stephens
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008606:Mental Processes; D009812:Odorants; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*