Episodic odor memory: influences of handedness, sex, and side of nose.
It is not known whether, or to what degree, odor memory is influenced by lateralized brain processes. In this study, we administered a 12-item match-to-sample odor memory test separately to the left and right sides of the nose of 30 left- and 30 right-handed subjects of equivalent age, sex distribution, and overall general smell ability. For each test item, one of three delay intervals (10-, 30-, and 60-s) was interspersed between smelling the target stimulus and smelling the first of four response alternatives. Women, but not men, performed significantly better on the left than on the right side of the nose, conceivably reflecting greater reliance upon left-hemisphere semantic processes. Subjects who received the first test on the right side of the nose outperformed those who received the first test on the left side of the nose. As in previous work, an age-related decrement in odor memory test scores was present. These data contribute to the debate on the role of lateralized brain processes in episodic odor memory, and suggest that performance on a standardized match-to-sample odor memory task is influenced by a number of interacting factors.
Doty
Richard L
RL
University of Pennsylvania Smell and Taste Center, 5 Ravdin Building, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. doty@mail.med.upenn.edu
Kerr
Kara-Lynne
KL
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009666:Nose / Q000502:physiology*; D009812:Odorants; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012727:Sex Characteristics