Chem. Senses 26: 625-637,
2001
© Oxford University Press 2001
fMRI Activation in Response to Odorants Orally Delivered in Aqueous Solutions
San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
Correspondence to be sent to: C. Murphy, SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program, 6363 Alvarado Court, Suite 101, San Diego, CA 92120-4913, USA. e-mail: cmurphy{at}sunstroke.sdsu.edu
During food intake flavor perception results from simultaneous stimulation of the gustatory, olfactory and trigeminal systems. Olfactory stimulation occurs mainly through the retronasal pathway and the resulting perception is often interpreted as a taste perception, thus leading to the well-known sensory confusion between taste and olfaction. The present experiment was designed to study, with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the cortical representation of olfactory perception in humans in response to retronasal stimulation by odorants delivered in aqueous solution. Psychophysical evaluation confirmed that the stimuli acted as pure olfactory stimuli through the retronasal pathway and did not present any taste component. Results showed activation in all brain regions previously described with neuroimaging techniques using olfactory stimulation with an odorized air flow. Piriform and orbitofrontal cortex were found activated as well as the hippocampal region, the amygdala, the insular lobe, the cingulate gyrus and the cerebellum. These results demonstrate the feasibility of efficiently stimulating the olfactory system in an fMRI scanner through the retronasal pathway with liquids delivered to the oral cavity. The presentation of olfactory stimuli in liquids to the mouth is a realistic model for the study of food-related flavor perception. This stimulation protocol furthermore allows presenting taste and olfactory stimuli separately or combined, thus allowing for direct comparisons between single modality representation, taste or olfaction, and representation of multi-modality mixtures.
![]()
CiteULike
Connotea
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
L. Haase, B. Cerf-Ducastel, and C. Murphy The effect of stimulus delivery technique on perceived intensity functions for taste stimuli: Implications for fMRI studies Atten Percept Psychophys, July 1, 2009; 71(5): 1167 - 1173. [Abstract] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. N. Lundstrom, J. A. Boyle, R. J. Zatorre, and M. Jones-Gotman Functional Neuronal Processing of Body Odors Differs from that of Similar Common Odors Cereb Cortex, June 1, 2008; 18(6): 1466 - 1474. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. K. Olofsson, D. A. Broman, P. E. Gilbert, P. Dean, S. Nordin, and C. Murphy Laterality of the Olfactory Event-Related Potential Response Chem Senses, September 1, 2006; 31(7): 699 - 704. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. Mainland and N. Sobel The Sniff Is Part of the Olfactory Percept Chem Senses, February 1, 2006; 31(2): 181 - 196. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
B. J. Koza, A. Cilmi, M. Dolese, and D. A. Zellner Color Enhances Orthonasal Olfactory Intensity and Reduces Retronasal Olfactory Intensity Chem Senses, October 1, 2005; 30(8): 643 - 649. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
B. C. Sun and B. P. Halpern Identification of Air Phase Retronasal and Orthonasal Odorant Pairs Chem Senses, October 1, 2005; 30(8): 693 - 706. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. D. Mainland, B. N. Johnson, R. Khan, R. B. Ivry, and N. Sobel Olfactory Impairments in Patients with Unilateral Cerebellar Lesions Are Selective to Inputs from the Contralesional Nostril J. Neurosci., July 6, 2005; 25(27): 6362 - 6371. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. A. Osterbauer, P. M. Matthews, M. Jenkinson, C. F. Beckmann, P. C. Hansen, and G. A. Calvert Color of Scents: Chromatic Stimuli Modulate Odor Responses in the Human Brain J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2005; 93(6): 3434 - 3441. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
D. M. Small, J. Voss, Y. E. Mak, K. B. Simmons, T. Parrish, and D. Gitelman Experience-Dependent Neural Integration of Taste and Smell in the Human Brain J Neurophysiol, September 1, 2004; 92(3): 1892 - 1903. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
I. E. de Araujo and E. T. Rolls Representation in the Human Brain of Food Texture and Oral Fat J. Neurosci., March 24, 2004; 24(12): 3086 - 3093. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
W. Grisold and V. Nussgruber Comments on Neurological Aspects of Taste Disorders Arch Neurol, February 1, 2004; 61(2): 297 - 298. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
B. N. Johnson, J. D. Mainland, and N. Sobel Rapid Olfactory Processing Implicates Subcortical Control of an Olfactomotor System J Neurophysiol, August 1, 2003; 90(2): 1084 - 1094. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
D. J. Cook, T. A. Hollowood, R. S.T. Linforth, and A. J. Taylor Oral Shear Stress Predicts Flavour Perception in Viscous Solutions Chem Senses, January 1, 2003; 28(1): 11 - 23. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||





