title: Olfactomotor activity during imagery mimics that during perception.
abstract: Neural representations created in the absence of external sensory stimuli are referred to as imagery, and such representations may be augmented by reenactment of sensorimotor processes. We measured nasal airflow in human subjects while they imagined sights, sounds and smells, and only during olfactory imagery did subjects spontaneously enact the motor component of olfaction--that is, they sniffed. Moreover, as in perception, imagery of pleasant odors involved larger sniffs than imagery of unpleasant odors, suggesting that the act of sniffing has a functional role in creating of olfactory percepts.
authors.affiliation: Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California at Berkeley, 3210 Tolman Hall MC 1650, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. bensafi@uclink.berkeley.edu
authors.forename: Moustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bensafi
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Porter
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pouliot
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mainland
authors.forename: Bradley
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zelano
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bremner
authors.forename: Danny
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aframian
authors.forename: Rehan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Noam
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sobel
mesh_terms: D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D019018:Imagery, Psychotherapy; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology*; D009812:Odorants; D009833:Olfactory Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time; D012684:Sensory Thresholds; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*