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Chemical Senses Advance Access published online on January 4, 2006
Chemical Senses, doi:10.1093/chemse/bjj025
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Accepted December 12, 2005

Article

Sit Up and Smell the Roses Better: Olfactory Sensitivity to Phenyl Ethyl Alcohol Is Dependent on Body Position

Johan N. Lundström 1 *, Julie A. Boyle 1, and Marilyn Jones-Gotman 1

1 Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 University Street, Room 276, Montreal, Québec H3A 2B4, Canada

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Johan N. Lundström, E-mail: johan.n.lundstrom{at}mcgill.ca


  Abstract

Previous studies have demonstrated that body position can alter auditory sensitivity. Here we demonstrate for the first time that olfactory sensitivity for the commonly used odor phenyl ethyl alcohol (PEA) (rose odor) is also dependent on body position. By using successive dilutions presented in a staircase protocol, we determined olfactory thresholds for PEA in 36 healthy participants (18 women) in both an upright and a supine position. Participants had a significantly greater olfactory sensitivity when tested in an upright than a supine position, with no significant differences between the sexes. This preliminary study sets the stage for further work on the interaction between olfactory functions and our biology. The implications for olfactory neuroimaging studies are discussed.

Keywords: body position; neuroimaging; odors; sensitivity; smell.
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