Body odors offer a unique window into the physiological and psychological profile of the emitter. This information, broadcast in nonverbal communication, significantly shapes social interactions. However, effectively digitizing body odors requires a precise framework for perceptual operationalization. Previous research has used a very limited number of verbal terms, such as pleasant, intense, or attractive, which fails to adequately capture qualitative differences. To address this gap, we elicited body odor descriptions from 2,607 participants across 17 countries and 13 languages. All these descriptions are presented here in one dataset, together with a condensed list of 25 body odor words (BOW). Those terms reliably differentiated between body states, and were validated in a separate study with a different group of 155 perceivers. The dataset, available as a web application, provides a novel operationalization of body odor impressions, which is a precondition for studying olfaction in human nonverbal communication, for perception-based digitization of body odors and for comparative studies.

• MeSH
• čich MeSH
• jazyk (prostředek komunikace) MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• neverbální komunikace * MeSH
• odoranty * MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• dataset MeSH

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder oftentimes associated with abnormal social behaviors and altered sensory responsiveness. It is hypothesized that the inappropriate filtering of sensory stimuli, including olfaction, can lead to aberrant social behavior in FXS. However, previous studies investigating olfaction in animal models of FXS have shown inconsistent results. Here, we found that Fmr1 knock-out (KO) mice, a mouse model of FXS, showed increased sniffing duration for non-social odors during their first exposure. Additionally, while wild-type (WT) males demonstrated differences in behavioral patterns between non-social odors while Fmr1 KO males did not show such distinction. We also showed that Fmr1 KO males spent significantly less time sniffing female urine odor compared to WT males. Moreover, we found an increased volume of the olfactory bulb in Fmr1 KO males. Overall, our findings suggest that the Fmr1 KO mice demonstrate atypical olfactory behaviors as well as structural changes in the olfactory bulb.

• MeSH
• bulbus olfactorius * metabolismus   MeSH
• chování zvířat MeSH
• čich * fyziologie   MeSH
• modely nemocí na zvířatech MeSH
• myši knockoutované * MeSH
• myši MeSH
• odoranty * MeSH
• protein FMRP * genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• syndrom fragilního X * patofyziologie   genetika   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• myši MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH

OBJECTIVES: Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is common and carries significant personal and societal burden. Accurate assessment is necessary for good clinical and research practice but is highly dependent on the assessment technique used. Current practice with regards to UK/international clinical assessment is unknown. We aimed to capture current clinical practice, with reference to contemporaneously available guidelines. We further aimed to compare UK to international practice. DESIGN: Anonymous online questionnaire with cross-sectional non-probability sampling. Subgroup analysis according to subspeciality training in rhinology ('rhinologists' and 'non-rhinologists') was performed, with geographical comparisons only made according to subgroup. PARTICIPANTS: ENT surgeons who assess olfaction. RESULTS: Responses were received from 465 clinicians (217 from UK and 17 countries total). Country-specific response rate varied, with the lowest rate being obtained from Japan (1.4%) and highest from Greece (72.5%). Most UK clinicians do not perform psychophysical smell testing during any of the presented clinical scenarios-though rhinologists did so more often than non-rhinologists. The most frequent barriers to testing related to service provision (e.g., time/funding limitations). Whilst there was variability in practice, in general, international respondents performed psychophysical testing more frequently than those from the UK. Approximately 3/4 of all respondents said they would like to receive training in psychophysical smell testing. Patient reported outcome measures were infrequently used in the UK/internationally. More UK respondents performed diagnostic MRI scanning than international respondents. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive UK-based, and only international survey of clinical practice in the assessment of OD. We present recommendations to improve practice, including increased education and funding for psychophysical smell testing. We hope this will promote accurate and reliable olfactory assessment, as is the accepted standard in other sensory systems.

• MeSH
• čich * fyziologie   MeSH
• hodnocení výsledků péče pacientem MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• poruchy čichu * diagnóza   MeSH
• průřezové studie MeSH
• průzkumy a dotazníky MeSH
• stupeň vzdělání MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Chemosensory learning is a lifelong process of acquiring perceptual expertise and semantic knowledge about chemical stimuli within the everyday environment. In the research context, it is usually simulated using olfactory training, which typically involves repeated exposure to a set of odors over a period of time. Following olfactory training, enhanced olfactory performance has been observed in adults, and similar evidence is beginning to emerge in children. However, the literature is scant concerning the effects of interventions that more closely resemble how chemosensory experience is acquired in daily life. Since children's chemosensory ecology appears to play a crucial role in olfactory development, we investigated whether engaging in activities that stimulate the chemical senses enhances olfactory performance and metacognition. To this end, we invited 20 children aged 9-11 years to participate in teacher-assisted after-school activities for 30-60 minutes a day for six weeks. During the odd weeks, the children appraised herbal and spice blends and used them to prepare dishes and make beauty products. During the even ones, they explored the city by smellwalking and created smellscape maps. The educational outcomes were evaluated using the Sniffin' Sticks test for odor identification and discrimination and the Children's Personal Significance of Olfaction. Bayesian analyses did not reveal any compelling evidence in support of the alternative hypothesis that children in the chemosensory education group outperform those in the comparison group at the post-test. Rates of reliable increase but also decrease in performance on the Sniffin' Sticks identification and discrimination tests were similar in both groups. We corroborated the previous findings regarding girls' and older children's greater proficiency at identifying odors and the female keener interest in the sense of smell. We offer several practical suggestions researchers may want to consider to tailor their research protocols to reflect more closely the broader context in which chemosensory learning takes place and better capture the nuanced outcomes of such interventions.

• MeSH
• Bayesova věta MeSH
• čich * fyziologie   MeSH
• čichová percepce * fyziologie   MeSH
• dítě MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• odoranty * MeSH
• školy MeSH
• učení fyziologie   MeSH
• Check Tag
• dítě MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Olfactory sensitivity to odorant molecules is a complex biological function influenced by both endogenous factors, such as genetic background and physiological state, and exogenous factors, such as environmental conditions. In animals, this vital ability is mediated by olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs), which are distributed across several specialized olfactory subsystems depending on the species. Using the phosphorylation of the ribosomal protein S6 (rpS6) in OSNs following sensory stimulation, we developed an ex vivo assay allowing the simultaneous conditioning and odorant stimulation of different mouse olfactory subsystems, including the main olfactory epithelium, the vomeronasal organ, and the Grueneberg ganglion. This approach enabled us to observe odorant-induced neuronal activity within the different olfactory subsystems and to demonstrate the impact of environmental conditioning, such as temperature variations, on olfactory sensitivity, specifically in the Grueneberg ganglion. We further applied our rpS6-based assay to the human olfactory system and demonstrated its feasibility. Our findings show that analyzing rpS6 signal intensity is a robust and highly reproducible indicator of neuronal activity across various olfactory systems, while avoiding stress and some experimental limitations associated with in vivo exposure. The potential extension of this assay to other conditioning paradigms and olfactory systems, as well as its application to other animal species, including human olfactory diagnostics, is also discussed.

• MeSH
• čich fyziologie   MeSH
• čichová sliznice metabolismus   MeSH
• čichové buňky * metabolismus   fyziologie   MeSH
• fosforylace MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• myši inbrední C57BL MeSH
• myši MeSH
• odoranty analýza   MeSH
• ribozomální protein S6 * metabolismus   MeSH
• vomeronazální orgán metabolismus   fyziologie   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• myši MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

OBJECTIVES: Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is a common symptom associated with Covid-19. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the importance of psychophysical olfactory tests and electrophysiological olfactory assessment increased. The purpose of the study was to analyze the psychophysical olfactory tests and the post-covid curves of olfactory event-related potentials (OERPs) and trigeminal event-related potentials (TERPs). METHODS: The prospective study included 98 subjects (62 females / 36 males). The average age was 42 years (range 21-84 years). Group I (n = 77) contained participants who had been infected with Covid-19. They were enrolled in the study at least 1 year after Covid-19. Group II (n = 21) was the healthy normosmic control group. RESULTS: In Group I, the OERPs of 18% participants were absent. Patients in Group I were statistically more likely to have an absence of OERPs (p = 0.036) than subjects in Group II. We did not detect a statistical difference in amplitudes and latencies of the OERPs between Group I and Group II. In Group I, N1 latency of the TERPs was significantly longer (p = 0.002) than in Group II. The amplitude of the N1-P2 interval of the TERPs was significantly lower (p = 0.025) in Group I than in Group II. According to the psychophysical Sniffin stick identification test, hyposmia was detected in 39% in Group I versus 0% in the control Group II. CONCLUSION: OD is a common post-covid symptom. The presence of OERPs is a significant prognostic factor for olfactory function after Covid 19. We detected a lower percentage of absence of OERPs after Covid-19 compared to the previously published studies of post-viral OD and post-infectious OD. For TERPs, we detected a longer N1 latency and a lower amplitude for the N1-P2 interval after Covid-19. OERPs and TERPs can be considered valid biomarkers to evaluate the progress of post-covid OD.

• MeSH
• čich fyziologie   MeSH
• COVID-19 * patofyziologie   MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• evokované potenciály * fyziologie   MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• nervus trigeminus patofyziologie   virologie   MeSH
• poruchy čichu * patofyziologie   virologie   etiologie   diagnóza   MeSH
• prospektivní studie MeSH
• SARS-CoV-2 * MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Research shows that male body odor plays an important role in women's mate choice and that olfactory abilities are associated with women's sexual functioning. What remains unclear is what types of partner's odor actually shape women's experience during intimate activities. This study therefore explored women's experience associated with the partner's various odors and investigated how they affect women's intimate and sexual encounters. We performed semi-structured individual interviews with 20 single women and 20 women in a long-term relationship. Thematic analysis revealed four key natural odor types of the partner: body odor, sweat, genital odor, and semen odor. Further, we have identified three main types of fragrance odor (cologne, shower gel, and laundry agents) and investigated their perception in both intimate (hugging, kissing, cuddling, lying side by side) and sexual (intercourse, oral sex, ejaculation) contexts. Both partner's natural odor and fragrance affected women's emotional state (ranging from pleasant to unpleasant) and behavioral response (ranging from approach to avoidance of partner). Women's odor perception was frequently context-dependent, so that even mostly negatively perceived odors (e.g., semen, genital odor) were often accepted as part of sexual encounter. Finally, women's perception was negatively modified by partner's specific sweat (after workday, workout, or when the partner is ill) during intimate encounters. Our results highlight the complexity and interindividual variability of partner's odor perception.

• MeSH
• čich fyziologie   MeSH
• čichová percepce fyziologie   MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• interpersonální vztahy MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• odoranty * MeSH
• pot MeSH
• sexuální chování * psychologie   MeSH
• sexuální partneři * psychologie   MeSH
• sperma MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Olfactory and cognitive performance share neural correlates profoundly affected by physiological aging. However, whether odor identification and discrimination scores predict global cognitive status and executive function in healthy older people with intact cognition is unclear. Therefore, in the present study, we set out to elucidate these links in a convenience sample of 204 independently living, cognitively intact healthy Czech adults aged 77.4 ± 8.7 (61-97 years) over two waves of data collection (one-year interval). We used the Czech versions of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to evaluate global cognition, and the Prague Stroop Test (PST), Trail Making Test (TMT), and several verbal fluency (VF) tests to assess executive function. As a subsidiary aim, we aimed to examine the contribution of olfactory performance towards achieving a MoCA score above vs. below the published cut-off value. We found that the MoCA scores exhibited moderate associations with both odor identification and discrimination. Furthermore, odor identification significantly predicted PST C and C/D scores. Odor discrimination significantly predicted PST C/D, TMT B/A, and standardized composite VF scores. Our findings demonstrate that olfaction, on the one hand, and global cognition and executive function, on the other, are related even in healthy older people.

• MeSH
• čich fyziologie   MeSH
• čichová percepce fyziologie   MeSH
• diskriminace (psychologie) * fyziologie   MeSH
• exekutivní funkce * fyziologie   MeSH
• kognice * fyziologie   MeSH
• kognitivní dysfunkce patofyziologie   diagnóza   MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• neuropsychologické testy MeSH
• odoranty * MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• stárnutí * fyziologie   MeSH
• testy pro posouzení mentálních funkcí a demence MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Puberty tends to be viewed as a "turning point" in hedonic perception of body odor (BO)-related smells. The pubertal stage, a potential proxy for the underlying physiological changes, may contribute to variation in odor hedonic perception. Other potential modulators of odor hedonics are general semantic knowledge about odors (which also tends to be subsumed under the term "age") and perceived odor intensity. The present cross-sectional study examined differences in hedonic odor perception across puberty in 205 Czech children aged 11-14 (89 boys). We investigated whether children differ in the hedonic appraisal of BO-related (16-androstenes and castoreum control), but also food and non-food odors according to their pubertal (penis/breast and pubic hair) development and general semantic knowledge about odors (operationalized as odor identification), controlling for age and perceived odor intensity. As a subsidiary aim, we examined variation in odor identification. We asked the children to self-stage themselves using drawings depicting Tanner's penis/breast and pubic hair stages of pubertal development, estimated their general semantic knowledge about odors with a Sniffin' Sticks identification test, and obtained their pleasantness and intensity ratings of body odor-related, food, a non-food smells. We found that the participants' ratings of the 16-androstenes and those of the perceptually similar odor of castoreum differed according to perceived intensity and, in the latter case, in boys vs. girls as well, but there were no influences of pubertal status or odor identification on the perceived pleasantness. Similarly, hedonic appraisal of non-food (but not food) odors was only influenced by perceived intensity. Regarding odor identification, differences between boys and girls were limited to younger children and did not become more marked throughout puberty. Perceived pleasantness of odors, irrespective of whether they are associated with body smells, food, or other, does not appear to vary across puberty, and boys and girls seem to achieve similar levels of semantic odor knowledge as they grow up.

• MeSH
• čich * fyziologie   MeSH
• čichová percepce fyziologie   MeSH
• dítě MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• odoranty * MeSH
• průřezové studie MeSH
• puberta * fyziologie   psychologie   MeSH
• radost fyziologie   MeSH
• Check Tag
• dítě MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH

INTRODUCTION: We report a case series two patients of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) associated with previous COVID-19 that both patients survived. GBS is an immune-mediated disease that affects peripheral nerves and can cause life-threatening complications. CASE REPORTS: In both cases (53-year-old female and 59-year-old male) with severe GBS with complications, the smell of sense was investigated subjectively using Sniffin' sticks identification tests and objectively using objective olfactometry by the evaluation of olfactory event-related potentials (OERPs). Both patients had good results of the subjective Sniffin' sticks identification test without patholgical findings. Results of objective examination of OERPs: the P2-N1 wave complex was equipotent. No olfactory disturbance could be detected in either case, OERPs were plentiful in both cases. CONCLUSION: The presentation of a case series two patients of post-covid GBS are an example of one of the many complications of COVID-19 that can cause prolonged recovery. Despite the severe course of GBS and the long recovery time, both patients returned to normal life. An expanded prospective study is planned for the future to investigate post-covid olfactory impairment. The prevalence of GBS associated with COVID-19 is still unknown but it is evident that both mild and severe forms of GBS have been described in patients.

• MeSH
• Betacoronavirus MeSH
• čich fyziologie   MeSH
• COVID-19 * komplikace   patofyziologie   MeSH
• evokované potenciály * fyziologie   MeSH
• Guillainův-Barrého syndrom * patofyziologie   diagnóza   MeSH
• koronavirové infekce komplikace   patofyziologie   diagnóza   MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• pandemie MeSH
• poruchy čichu etiologie   patofyziologie   diagnóza   MeSH
• SARS-CoV-2 * MeSH
• virová pneumonie komplikace   patofyziologie   diagnóza   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• kazuistiky MeSH