Olfactomotor activity during imagery mimics that during perception.
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.
Bensafi
Moustafa
M
Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California at Berkeley, 3210 Tolman Hall MC 1650, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. bensafi@uclink.berkeley.edu
Porter
Jessica
J
Pouliot
Sandra
S
Mainland
Joel
J
Johnson
Bradley
B
Zelano
Christina
C
Young
Natasha
N
Bremner
Elizabeth
E
Aframian
Danny
D
Khan
Rehan
R
Sobel
Noam
N
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*