title: Methodological considerations in conducting an olfactory fMRI study.
abstract: The sense of smell is a complex chemosensory processing in human and animals that allows them to connect with the environment as one of their chief sensory systems. In the field of functional brain imaging, many studies have focused on locating brain regions that are involved during olfactory processing. Despite wealth of literature about brain network in different olfactory tasks, there is a paucity of data regarding task design. Moreover, considering importance of olfactory tasks for patients with variety of neurological diseases, special contemplations should be addressed for patients. In this article, we review current olfaction tasks for behavioral studies and functional neuroimaging assessments, as well as technical principles regarding utilization of these tasks in functional magnetic resonance imaging studies.
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging and Analysis Group (NIAG), ResearchCenter for Molecular and Cellular Imaging (RCMCI), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Faezeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vedaei
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fakhri
authors.forename: Mohammad Hossein
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Harirchian
authors.forename: Kavous
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Firouznia
authors.forename: Yones
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lotfi
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ali Oghabian
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D055696:Olfactory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology