Centre for the Developing Brain, Division of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering, Kings College London, St. Thomas' Hospital, London, UK.
Acta Paediatr. 2013 Sep;102(9):868-75. doi: 10.1111/apa.12327.
Olfactory sensation is highly functional early in human neonatal life, with studies suggesting that odours can influence behaviour and infant-mother bonding. Due to its good spatial properties, blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) contrast functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has the potential to rapidly advance our understanding of the neural activity which underlies the development of olfactory perception in this key period. We aimed to design an 'olfactometer' specifically for use with neonatal subjects for fMRI studies of odour perception.
We describe a fully automated and programmable, fMRI compatible system capable of presenting odorant liquids. To prevent contamination of the system and minimize between-subject infective risk, the majority of the olfactometer is constructed from single-use, readily available clinical equipment. The system was used to present the odour of infant formula milk in a validation group of seven neonatal subjects at term equivalent postmenstrual age (median age 40 weeks).
A safe, reliable and reproducible pattern of stimulation was delivered leading to well-localized positive BOLD functional responses in the piriform cortex, amygdala, thalamus, insular cortex and cerebellum.
The described system is therefore suitable for detailed studies of the ontology of olfactory sensation and perception during early human brain development.
人类新生儿生命早期的嗅觉功能高度发达，有研究表明气味可以影响行为和母婴结合。由于血氧水平依赖（BOLD）对比功能磁共振成像（fMRI）具有良好的空间特性，因此有可能迅速提高我们对嗅觉感知发展的神经活动的理解，这是这一关键时期。我们旨在设计一种专门用于新生儿 fMRI 嗅觉感知研究的“嗅觉计”。
我们描述了一种完全自动化和可编程的、与 fMRI 兼容的系统，能够呈现气味液体。为了防止系统污染和最大限度地降低感染风险，嗅觉计的大部分是由一次性、现成的临床设备构成的。该系统用于在足月等效胎龄（中位数年龄 40 周）的 7 名新生儿受试者中呈现婴儿配方奶的气味。
成功实现了安全、可靠和可重复的刺激模式，导致梨状皮层、杏仁核、丘脑、脑岛和小脑的局部正 BOLD 功能反应。
因此，所描述的系统适用于在人类大脑早期发育过程中对嗅觉感知本体论的详细研究。
