Masaoka Yuri, Satoh Hironori, Kawamura Mitsuru, Homma Ikuo
Department of Physiology, Showa University School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8555, Japan.
Respir Physiol Neurobiol. 2008 Apr 30;161(2):136-41. doi: 10.1016/j.resp.2008.01.003. Epub 2008 Jan 31.
There are many reports of olfactory impairment in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and the impairment can be observed before the appearance of typical PD symptom. Accordingly, olfactory screening tests may predict disease onset and indicates a need for early treatment before classic signs of the disease. Olfaction is dependent on inspiration, and activation of olfactory limbic areas are synchronized with the natural breathing cycle in animals and humans. Subconscious changes in respiratory pattern occur in response to odor stimulation. The use of olfactory stimuli to investigate respiratory pattern could be used to assess olfactory perception and serve as an index for olfactory limbic activation. In this study, we tested olfactory acuity in normal subjects and in patients with PD and recorded V(O2) and respiratory variables during pleasant and unpleasant odor presentation. All subjects were able to detect the odorants; however patients with PD were assigned to one of two groups, group that could recognize odors or the group with impaired odor recognition. Respiratory response toward unpleasant and pleasant odor recognition were weak in PD groups who could recognize odors than normal subject as well as emotional response to odor stimuli. PD group with impaired odor recognition showed no respiratory response toward odor stimuli. PD may experience difficulty in feeling positive emotions toward pleasant odors prior to the unpleasant odor because respiratory responses to pleasant odors may also be related to higher processes including intentional control of breathing pattern as a result of olfactory cortex processing and perceptions or emotions.
有许多关于帕金森病（PD）患者嗅觉障碍的报道，且这种障碍在典型PD症状出现之前就能被观察到。因此，嗅觉筛查测试可能预测疾病的发作，并表明在疾病的典型症状出现之前就需要进行早期治疗。嗅觉依赖于吸气，在动物和人类中，嗅觉边缘区域的激活与自然呼吸周期同步。呼吸模式的潜意识变化会因气味刺激而发生。利用嗅觉刺激来研究呼吸模式可用于评估嗅觉感知，并作为嗅觉边缘激活的一个指标。在本研究中，我们测试了正常受试者和PD患者的嗅觉敏锐度，并在呈现愉悦和不愉悦气味时记录了V（O2）和呼吸变量。所有受试者都能检测到气味剂；然而，PD患者被分为两组，一组能够识别气味，另一组气味识别受损。在能够识别气味的PD组中，对不愉悦和愉悦气味识别的呼吸反应比正常受试者弱，对气味刺激的情绪反应也是如此。气味识别受损的PD组对气味刺激没有呼吸反应。PD患者在闻到不愉悦气味之前，可能难以对愉悦气味产生积极情绪，因为对愉悦气味的呼吸反应也可能与更高层次的过程有关，包括由于嗅觉皮层处理以及感知或情绪而对呼吸模式进行的有意控制。
