Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T00:29:08.174Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Olfactory clearance: what time is needed in clinical practice?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 November 2007

C M Philpott ,
C R Wolstenholme ,
P C Goodenough ,
A Clark  and
G E Murty
C M Philpott*
Affiliation:
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust, Colchester, UK
C R Wolstenholme
Affiliation:
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Leicester Royal Infirmary, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, UK
P C Goodenough
Affiliation:
Division of Medical Physics, University of Leicester, UK
A Clark
Affiliation:
School of Medicine, Health Policy and Practice, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
G E Murty
Affiliation:
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Leicester Royal Infirmary, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, UK
*
Address for correspondence: Mr Carl M Philpott, 2 Shepherds Barn, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 5BS, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

To determine olfactory adaptation and clearance times for healthy individuals, and to assess the effect of common variables upon these parameters.

Study design and setting:

Fourteen healthy volunteers were recruited for a series of tests. Their initial olfactory threshold levels for phenethyl alcohol were determined. After olfactory exposure to a saturated solution of phenethyl alcohol (i.e. olfactory adaptation), the time taken for subjects to return to their initial olfactory threshold was then recorded (i.e. olfactory clearance). Visual analogue scale scores for subjective variables were also recorded.

Results:

The 14 subjects performed 120 tests in total. Despite consistent linear trends within individuals, olfactory clearance times varied widely within and between individuals. The mean olfactory clearance time for phenethyl alcohol was 170 seconds (range 81–750). Univariate analysis showed a relationship between olfactory clearance times and age (p = 0.031), symptoms (p = 0.029) and mood (p = 0.048).

Conclusions:

When testing a person's sense of smell in a clinical setting, recent exposure to similar smells should be noted, and a period of 15 minutes needs to be allowed before retesting if using phenethyl alcohol. Other variables need not be controlled, but greater clearance time may be needed for older patients.

Keywords

OlfactionPhysiological Adaptation
Type
Main Article
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 122 , Issue 9 , September 2008 , pp. 912 - 917
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Wysocki, CJ, Gilbert, AN. National Geographic smell survey. effects of age are heterogenous. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1989;561:12–28CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2 Olsson, MJ, Cain, WS. Psychometrics of odor quality discrimination: method for threshold determination. Chem Senses 2000;25:493–9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3 Carrie, S, Scannell, JW, Dawes, PJ. The smell map: is there a commonality of odour perception? Clin Otolaryngol Allied Sci 1999;24:184–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4 Dawes, PJ, Dawes, MT, Williams, SM. The smell map: commonality of odour perception confirmed. Clin Otolaryngol 2004;29:648–54CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5 Dalton, P. Psychophysical and behavioral characteristics of olfactory adaptation. Chem Senses 2000;25:487–92CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6 Zufall, F, Leinders-Zufall, T. The cellular and molecular basis of odor adaptation. Chem Senses 2000;25:473–81CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7 Best, AR, Wilson, DA. Coordinate synaptic mechanisms contributing to olfactory cortical adaptation. J Neurosci 2004;24:652–60CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8 Zufall, F, Shepherd, GM, Firestein, S. Inhibition of the olfactory cyclic nucleotide gated ion channel by intracellular calcium. Proceedings Biological Sciences/The Royal Society of London 1991;246:225–30Google ScholarPubMed
9 Potter, H, Chorover, SL. Response plasticity in hamster olfactory bulb: peripheral and central processes. Brain Res 1976;116:417–29CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10 Mair, RG, Gesteland, RC, Blank, DL. Changes in morphology and physiology of olfactory receptor cilia during development. Neuroscience 1982;7:3091–103CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11 McCollum, J, Larson, J, Otto, T, Schottler, F, Granger, R, Lynch, G. Short-latency single-unit processing in olfactory cortex. J Cogn Neurosci 1991;3:293–9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12 Wilson, DA. Habituation of odor responses in the rat anterior piriform cortex. J Neurophysiol 1998;79:1425–40CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13 Aronsohn, E. Experimental investigations into the physiology of smell [in German]. Archiv Physiolol Leipzig 1886;57:321–57Google Scholar
14 Philpott, C, Goodenough, P, Robertson, A, Passant, C, Murty, G. The effect of temperature, humidity and peak inspiratory nasal flow on olfactory thresholds. Clin Otolaryngol Allied Sci 2004;29:24–31CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15 Philpott, C, Goodenough, P, Wolstenholme, C, Murty, G. What solvent for olfactory testing? Clin Otolaryngol Allied Sci 2004;29:667–71CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16 Doty, R, Gregor, T, Settle, R. Influence of intertrial interval and sniff bottle volume on phenyl ethyl alcohol odor detection thresholds. Chem Senses 1986;11:259–64CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17 Doty, RL, Laing, D. Psychophysical measurement of human olfactory function. In: Doty, RL, d. Handbook of Olfaction and Gustation, 2nd edn. New York: Marcel Dekker, 2003;203–228CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18 Koster, E, de Wijk, R. Olfactory adaptation. In: Laing, D, Doty, R, Breipohl, W, eds. The Human Sense of Smell. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1991;199–215CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19 Murphy, C, Schubert, CR, Cruickshanks, KJ, Klein, BE, Klein, R, Nondahl, DM. Prevalence of olfactory impairment in older adults. JAMA 2002;288:2307–12CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20 Doty, RL, Shaman, P, Dann, M. Development of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test: a standardized microencapsulated test of olfactory function. Physiol Behav 1984;32:489–502CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21 Wise, PM, Olsson, MJ, Cain, WS. Quantification of odor quality. Chem Senses 2000;25:429–43CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22 Stevens, JC, Cain, WS, Schiet, FT, Oatley, MW. Olfactory adaptation and recovery in old age. Perception 1989;18:265–76CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23 Jacob, TJ, Fraser, C, Wang, L, Walker, V, O'Connor, S. Psychophysical evaluation of responses to pleasant and mal-odour stimulation in human subjects; adaptation, dose response and gender differences. Int J Psychophysiol 2003;48:67–80CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
24 Reidl, J, Borowski, P, Sensse, A, Starke, J, Zapotocky, M, Eiswirth, M. Model of calcium oscillations due to negative feedback in olfactory cilia. Biophys J 2006;90:1147–55CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25 Reisert, J, Matthews, HR. Adaptation of the odour-induced response in frog olfactory receptor cells. J Physiol (Lond) 1999;3:801–13CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26 Yee, KK, Wysocki, CJ. Odorant exposure increases olfactory sensitivity: olfactory epithelium is implicated. Physiol Behav 2001;72:705–11CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27 Matthews, HR, Reisert, J. Calcium, the two-faced messenger of olfactory transduction and adaptation. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2003;13:469–75CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
28 Wang, L, Walker, VE, Sardi, H, Fraser, C, Jacob, TJ. The correlation between physiological and psychological responses to odour stimulation in human subjects. Clinical Neurophysiology 2002;113:542–51CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed