The impact of expertise in olfaction
Olfactory expertise remains poorly understood, most likely because experts in odor, such as perfumers, sommeliers and oenologists, are much rarer than experts in other modalities, such as musicians or sportsmen. In this review, we address the specificities of odor expertise in both odor experts and...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2013-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00928/full |
| _version_ | 1818425961899622400 |
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| author | Jean-Pierre eROYET Jane ePlailly Anne-Lise eSaive Alexandra eVeyrac Chantal eDelon-Martin |
| author_facet | Jean-Pierre eROYET Jane ePlailly Anne-Lise eSaive Alexandra eVeyrac Chantal eDelon-Martin |
| author_sort | Jean-Pierre eROYET |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Olfactory expertise remains poorly understood, most likely because experts in odor, such as perfumers, sommeliers and oenologists, are much rarer than experts in other modalities, such as musicians or sportsmen. In this review, we address the specificities of odor expertise in both odor experts and in a priori untrained individuals who have undergone specific olfactory training in the frame of an experiment, such as repeated exposure to odors or associative learning. Until the 21st century, only the behavioral effects of olfactory training of untrained control individuals had been reported, revealing an improvement of olfactory performance in terms of sensitivity, discrimination, memory, and identification. Behavioral studies of odor experts have been scarce, with inconsistent or inconclusive results. Recently, the development of cerebral imaging techniques has enabled the identification of brain areas and neural networks involved in odor processing, revealing functional and structural modifications as a function of experience. The behavioral approach to odor expertise has also evolved. Researchers have particularly focused on odor mental imagery, which is characteristic of odor experts, because this ability is absent in the average person but is part of a perfumer’s professional practice. This review summarizes behavioral, functional, and structural findings on odor expertise. These data are compared with those obtained using animals subjected to prolonged olfactory exposure or to olfactory-enriched environments and are discussed in the context of functional and structural plasticity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T14:22:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b9a8df692967457eaa6b1c01ac4e5947 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T14:22:16Z |
| publishDate | 2013-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-b9a8df692967457eaa6b1c01ac4e59472022-12-21T22:58:03ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782013-12-01410.3389/fpsyg.2013.0092873148The impact of expertise in olfactionJean-Pierre eROYET0Jane ePlailly1Anne-Lise eSaive2Alexandra eVeyrac3Chantal eDelon-Martin4Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueCentre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueCentre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueCentre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueUniversité Joseph Fourier, Site SantéOlfactory expertise remains poorly understood, most likely because experts in odor, such as perfumers, sommeliers and oenologists, are much rarer than experts in other modalities, such as musicians or sportsmen. In this review, we address the specificities of odor expertise in both odor experts and in a priori untrained individuals who have undergone specific olfactory training in the frame of an experiment, such as repeated exposure to odors or associative learning. Until the 21st century, only the behavioral effects of olfactory training of untrained control individuals had been reported, revealing an improvement of olfactory performance in terms of sensitivity, discrimination, memory, and identification. Behavioral studies of odor experts have been scarce, with inconsistent or inconclusive results. Recently, the development of cerebral imaging techniques has enabled the identification of brain areas and neural networks involved in odor processing, revealing functional and structural modifications as a function of experience. The behavioral approach to odor expertise has also evolved. Researchers have particularly focused on odor mental imagery, which is characteristic of odor experts, because this ability is absent in the average person but is part of a perfumer’s professional practice. This review summarizes behavioral, functional, and structural findings on odor expertise. These data are compared with those obtained using animals subjected to prolonged olfactory exposure or to olfactory-enriched environments and are discussed in the context of functional and structural plasticity.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00928/fullNeurogenesisPerceptual Learningbrain plasticityMental ImageryPerfumerOdor expert |
| spellingShingle | Jean-Pierre eROYET Jane ePlailly Anne-Lise eSaive Alexandra eVeyrac Chantal eDelon-Martin The impact of expertise in olfaction Frontiers in Psychology Neurogenesis Perceptual Learning brain plasticity Mental Imagery Perfumer Odor expert |
| title | The impact of expertise in olfaction |
| title_full | The impact of expertise in olfaction |
| title_fullStr | The impact of expertise in olfaction |
| title_full_unstemmed | The impact of expertise in olfaction |
| title_short | The impact of expertise in olfaction |
| title_sort | impact of expertise in olfaction |
| topic | Neurogenesis Perceptual Learning brain plasticity Mental Imagery Perfumer Odor expert |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00928/full |
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