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Sensory- and memory-mediated olfactory dysfunction in Huntington's disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2009

Steven Nordin ,
Jane S. Paulsen  and
Claire Murphy
Steven Nordin
Affiliation:
University of California Medical Center, San Diego, CA 92103 Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182-0350
Jane S. Paulsen
Affiliation:
San Diego Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Diego, CA 92161 Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA 92161
Claire Murphy
Affiliation:
University of California Medical Center, San Diego, CA 92103 Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182-0350
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Abstract

Neuropathology in Huntington's disease (HD) known to project to areas that process olfactory information raises the questions of which olfactory function, if any, is most affected in HD, and how to explain such dysfunction in terms of olfactory sensitivity and cognition. These questions were studied by comparing HD patients and controls (matched for age, gender, and education) on absolute detection, intensity discrimination, quality discrimination, short-term recognition memory, and lexical- and picture-based identification for odor. Taste or vision were used as comparison modalities. The results suggest that whereas odor-recognition memory is not affected in patients with HD, these patients have impaired olfactory functioning with respect to absolute detection, intensity discrimination, quality discrimination, and identification. The three latter impairments were significantly explained by poor detection sensitivity. Odor identification was the function most affected. (JINS, 1995, I, 281–290.)

Keywords

Odor thresholdDiscriminationIdentificationRecognition memoryDementiasubcortical
Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 1 , Issue 3 , May 1995 , pp. 281 - 290
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 1995

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