Background The influence of surgery on olfaction in patients who suffer from chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is still not fully understood. Most particularly, the time course of the recovery is poorly studied. Methods The prospective study describes the results of the Sniffin' Sticks identification test in 41 subjects before (V1), 2 weeks after (V2), and 6 months after (V3) endonasal sinus surge...

Olfaction deficits in individuals with schizophrenia are well documented. A meta-analysis conducted nearly a dozen years ago on the topic revealed a deficit of a full standard deviation in magnitude compared to nonpatient controls. Recent efforts have been attempted to determine whether deficits in olfactory identification and acuity reflect a vulnerability marker of schizophrenia-spectrum path...

Historically, anatomical evidence has suggested that marine mammals are anosmic or at best microsmatic, i.e. absent or reduced olfactory capabilities. However, these neuroanatomical considerations may not be appropriate predictors for the use of olfaction in social interactions. Observations suggest that pinnipeds may use olfaction in mother-pup interactions, accepting or rejecting pups after n...

A brief survey is presented of current knowledge on olfaction in rodents and the various roles that odors may play in modifying rodent behavior. Some species at least uti lize olfactory cues: to locate food items; to recognize their mother and mates; to mark territory; as an involuntary population density regulator; possibly to recognize predators; as a warning cue against a repellent or toxic ...

Odors are powerful stimuli that can focus the attention, elicit behaviors (or misbehaviors) and even resurrect forgotten memories. These actions are directed by the central nervous system, but they depend upon the initial transduction of chemical signals by olfactory receptor neurons. Electrophysiological recordings suggest that the responses of olfactory receptor neurons to odors are more dive...

Disorders of the senses of taste and smell are not uncommon, occurring in over three million adults in the United States alone. Olfactory dysfunction occurs in about half of the population between the ages of 65 and 80 years and in about three-quarters of those 80 years of age and older (Figure 1). Although rarely appreciated, taste and smell disorders have significant consequences for the pati...

Background. Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a severely disabling autoimmune disorder of the CNS, which mainly affects the optic nerves and spinal cord. However, recent studies have shown that extra-opticospinal are more common in NMO than previously thought. Objective. To investigate olfactory function (OF) in patients with neuromyelitis optica (NMO) versus healthy controls (HC). Methods. Psychop...

Altered sensory processing has been an important feature of the clinical descriptions of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There is evidence that sensory dysregulation arises early in the progression of ASD and impacts social functioning. This paper reviews behavioral and neurobiological evidence that describes how sensory deficits across multiple modalities (vision, hearing, touch, olfaction, gu...

Cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels in olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) are hypothesized to play a critical role in olfaction. However, it has not been demonstrated that the cAMP signaling is required for olfactory-based behavioral responses, and the contributions of specific adenylyl cyclases to olfaction have not been defined. Here, we report the presence of adenylyl cyclases 2, 3, and 4 in ...