A Masked Aversive Odor Cannot Be Discriminated From the Masking Odor but Can Be Identified Through Odor Quality Ratings and Neural Activation Patterns.

ABSTRACT: Odor masking is a very prominent problem in our daily routines, mainly concerning unpleasant sweat or toilet odors. In the current study we explored the effectiveness of odor masking both on a behavioral and neuronal level. By definition, participants cannot differentiate a fully masked unpleasant odor from the pleasant pure odor used as a masking agent on a behavioral level. We hypothesized, however, that one can still discriminate between a fully masked odor mixture and the pure masking odor on a neuronal level and that, using a reinforcing feedback paradigm, participants could be trained to perceive this difference. A pleasant, lemon-like odor (citral) and a mixture of citral and minor amounts of an unpleasant, goat-like odor (caproic acid) were presented to participants repeatedly usin

SUBMITTER: Rodriguez-Raecke R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6868123 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature