Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Retronasal Perception of Odors

2008; Wiley; Volume: 5; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/cbdv.200890100

1612-1880

Thomas Hummel,

Advanced Chemical Sensor Technologies

Abstract Odors often produce different sensations when presented in front of the nose or intraorally, when eaten. It is a long‐standing question whether these differences in sensations are due, for example, to the additional mechanical sensations elicited by the food in the mouth or additional odor release during mastication. To study this phenomenon in detail, a stimulation technique has been developed that allows controlled ortho‐ or retronasal presentation of odorous stimuli. Results from psychophysical, electrophysiological, and imaging studies suggest that there are clear differences in the perception of ortho‐ and retronasal stimuli. This ‘ duality of the sense of smell ’ is also observed in a clinical context where some patients exhibit good retronasal olfactory function with little or no orthonasal function left, and vice versa. The differences between ortho‐ and retronasal perception of odors are thought to be, at least partly, due to absorption of odors to the olfactory epithelium, which appears to differ in relation to the direction of the airflow across the olfactory epithelium.