Laboratoire Neurosciences Sensorielles, Comportement, Cognition, Université de Lyon and CNRS UMR 5020, Lyon, France.
Behav Brain Res. 2010 Apr 2;208(2):458-65. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2009.12.011. Epub 2009 Dec 23.
The olfactory function in humans is characterized by wide variability between individuals. One of the prominent factors that contribute to this plasticity is early exposure. The present study examined how brain activity is modulated by such olfactory experience. To this end, two groups of people living in France but originating from different cultures ("European-French" (EF, 18 subjects) vs. "Algerian-French" (AF, 19 subjects)) were tested, and their perceptual and physiological responses to the smells of mint (presumed to be experienced earlier in life by "Algerian-French" subjects) and of rose (control odorant) were compared. Neurophysiological responses were obtained in the form of chemosensory event-related potentials (CSERP). The results confirmed that the AF group was exposed to Mint tea earlier than the EF group. On the perceptual level, when asked to associate the smell of mint with objects or events retrieved from memory, the discourse of AF subjects included more "experience-oriented" associations than that of EF subjects. This was associated with longer P2 latency in CSERPs in response to the smell of mint in the AF group. These findings highlight the plasticity of behavioral and neural olfactory processes as a result of differential lifetime exposure.
人类的嗅觉功能具有个体间广泛的可变性。导致这种可塑性的突出因素之一是早期暴露。本研究探讨了大脑活动如何受到这种嗅觉体验的调节。为此，研究测试了两组居住在法国但来自不同文化的人（“法国-欧洲人”（EF，18 名受试者）与“法国-阿尔及利亚人”（AF，19 名受试者）），并比较了他们对薄荷（假定“阿尔及利亚-法国人”更早体验过）和玫瑰（对照气味）的嗅觉感知和生理反应。神经生理反应以化学感觉事件相关电位（CSERP）的形式获得。结果证实，AF 组比 EF 组更早接触薄荷茶。在感知层面上，当要求 AF 组的受试者将薄荷的气味与从记忆中检索到的物体或事件联系起来时，他们的话语比 EF 组的受试者更具有“以经验为导向”的联想。这与 AF 组对薄荷气味的 CSERP 中 P2 潜伏期延长有关。这些发现强调了行为和神经嗅觉过程的可塑性是由于终生接触的差异所致。
