Temporal pattern of odor administration alters hemispheric processing in humans.
Evidence from a variety of sensory modalities has suggested that the left hemisphere may be 'tuned' to process more rapidly changing stimuli than the right and some have suggested that this difference forms the foundation of the functional dichotomy often drawn between the two hemispheres. Odors may be thought to engage these same temporally dependent processes as portions of an odor mixture may come to be transduced into a phasic series of neural events. Using brain electrical activity, we show that the temporal sequence of the odor alters the pattern of brain electrical activity. Estimates of the source localization for this activity indicate that rapidly changing odors, like sounds, visual and tactile stimuli, show increased activity in the left hemisphere.
Lorig
Tyler S
TS
Department of Psychology, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia 24450, USA. tlorig@wlu.edu
Rigdon
Megan
M
Poor
Alexander
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009812:Odorants; D009833:Olfactory Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*