Hummel Thomas, Damm Michael, Vent Julia, Schmidt Matthias, Theissen Peter, Larsson Maria, Klussmann Jens-Peter
Smell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Dresden Medical School, Fetscherstr. 74, 01307 Dresden, Germany.
Brain Res. 2003 Jun 13;975(1-2):85-9. doi: 10.1016/s0006-8993(03)02589-7.
The aim of this study was to identify whether the depth of the olfactory sulcus relates to olfactory function in healthy subjects. Forty-four healthy, male volunteers (age range 22-45 years, mean age 28.3 years) were included in this study. Olfactory function was measured for phenyl ethyl alcohol odor thresholds, odor discrimination, and odor identification. Magnetic resonance imaging of the olfactory sulcus was performed immediately following olfactometry. Based on previous investigations the depth of the olfactory sulcus was measured in the plane of the posterior tangent through the eyeballs. Olfactory function correlated significantly with left-sided depth of the olfactory sulcus (r(44)=0.33, P=0.03); no such correlation was seen for the right side. In addition, olfactory sulcus depth was found to be significantly deeper on the right compared to the left side (t=5.61, P<0.001). The present results suggest that there is small, but significant relation between morphological brain structures and measures of olfactory function. Further, lateralization of olfactory sulcus depth may correlate to functional lateralization in the olfactory system. Thus, it may be carefully speculated that sensory input in the olfactory system results in cortical growth in the area of the olfactory sulcus, at least at some developmental stage.
本研究的目的是确定嗅沟深度是否与健康受试者的嗅觉功能相关。44名健康男性志愿者（年龄范围22 - 45岁，平均年龄28.3岁）纳入本研究。对苯乙醇气味阈值、气味辨别和气味识别进行嗅觉功能测量。嗅觉测量后立即进行嗅沟的磁共振成像。根据先前的研究，在通过眼球的后切线平面测量嗅沟深度。嗅觉功能与左侧嗅沟深度显著相关（r(44)=0.33，P = 0.03）；右侧未观察到这种相关性。此外，发现右侧嗅沟深度明显比左侧深（t = 5.61，P < 0.001）。目前的结果表明，脑形态结构与嗅觉功能测量之间存在微小但显著的关系。此外，嗅沟深度的侧化可能与嗅觉系统的功能侧化相关。因此，可以谨慎推测，嗅觉系统中的感觉输入至少在某些发育阶段会导致嗅沟区域的皮质生长。
