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Odor quality profile is partially influenced by verbal cues.

ABSTRACT: Characterizing an odor quality is difficult for humans. Ever-increasing physiological and behavioral studies have characterized odor quality and demonstrated high performance of human odor categorization. However, there are no precise methods for measuring the multidimensional axis of an odor quality. Furthermore, it can be altered by individual experience, even when using existing measurement methods for the multidimensional axis of odor such as odor profiling. It is, therefore, necessary to characterize patterns of odor quality with odor profiling and observe alterations in odor profiles under the influence of subjective rating conditions such as verbal cues. Considering the high performance of human odor categorization, we hypothesized that odor may have specific odor quality that is scarcely altered by verbal cues. We assessed odor responses to isovaleric acid with and without verbal cues and compared the results in each stimulation condition. We found that verbal cues influenced the rating of odor quality descriptors. Verbal cues weakly influenced the odor quality descriptors of high-rated value (upper 25%) compared to odor quality descriptors of low-rated value (lower 75%) by the survey test. Even under different verbal cue conditions, the same odor was classified in the same class when using high-rated odor quality descriptors. Our study suggests that people extract essential odor quality descriptors that represent the odor itself in order to efficiently quantify odor quality.

SUBMITTER: Bae J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6907808 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:ImportanceMajor depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with deficits in autobiographical memory (AM) recall, which is thought to stem from disruptions in effortful recall. Understanding whether these deficits are mitigated when recall is stimulated more directly, such as by odor cues, could inform therapeutic interventions for MDD.ObjectiveTo evaluate whether deficits in specific AM recall in MDD are mitigated when odor cues vs word cues are used to prompt memory.Design, setting, and participantsThis cross-sectional study assessed recall of specific AMs in response to both odor cues and word cues (in a randomized, counterbalanced order) in a repeated measures design. Data were collected between September 2021 and November 2022. The study took place at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania and included adults with a primary diagnosis of MDD, according to the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Data were analyzed from January to June 2023.Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome measure was the percentage of specific AMs recalled in response to odor-cued memories vs word-cued memories. Additional outcome measures included ratings of arousal, vividness, repetition, and recall response time for odor-cued memories vs word-cued memories.ResultsThirty-two adults (mean [SD] age, 30.0 [10.1] years; 26 [81.3%] female; 6 [18.8%] male) with a primary diagnosis of MDD completed the study. Participants recalled more specific AMs for odor cues than word cues (mean [SD], 68.4% [20.4%] vs 52.1% [23.3%]; Cohen d, 0.78; P < .001). Additionally, odor-cued recall was rated more arousing (mean [SD], 3.0 [0.8] vs 2.6 [0.7]; Cohen d, 1.28; P < .001) and vivid (mean [SD], 3.3 [0.7] vs 3.0 [0.7]; Cohen d, 0.67; P < .001), and was slower than word-cued recall (mean [SD], 14.5 [3.6] vs 8.9 [3.4] seconds; Cohen d, 1.18; P < .001). When compared with the population mean for word cues in healthy controls (80%), participants recalled fewer specific memories in response to words (Cohen d, 1.18; P < .001), supporting the presence of overgenerality. Notably, the percentage of specific memories recalled in response to odor cues did not differ from the healthy control population mean (Cohen d, 0.26; P = .15).Conclusions and relevanceIn this cross-sectional study, adults with MDD recalled more specific AMs in response to odor cues compared with word cues. This study suggests that AM deficits may only be observed when verbal cues are used and provides a potential new method for increasing specific AM recall in patients with MDD.

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Odor quality profile is partially influenced by verbal cues.

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