Murphy C
J Gerontol. 1985 Jan;40(1):47-52. doi: 10.1093/geronj/40.1.47.
Two experiments explored the effects of age, sex, and chemosensory function on the ability of blindfolded participants to identify a series of 12 blended foods. In the first experiment 40 persons aged 18 to 26 and 40 persons over 65 years of age attempted to identify the pureed foods using both taste and odor cues. Half the participants in each group were female, half were male. The average percentage correct on first attempt to identify was significantly higher in young than in old individuals. An Age X Sex interaction revealed a female superiority over men in the elderly group only. With feedback and practice, participants improved, but the age effect remained significant. In the second experiment, 20 young and 17 elderly women who had their nostrils occluded attempted the same identification task. When deprived of olfaction, the performance of young women fell to the same level as that of the old women on first exposure. The relative contributions of cognitive, gustatory, and olfactory/trigeminal factors to the age-related decline in chemosensory function are discussed.
两项实验探究了年龄、性别和化学感应功能对蒙眼参与者识别一系列12种混合食物能力的影响。在第一个实验中，40名年龄在18至26岁之间的人和40名65岁以上的人尝试通过味觉和嗅觉线索来识别这些泥状食物。每组中有一半参与者为女性，一半为男性。年轻人首次尝试识别时的平均正确百分比显著高于老年人。年龄与性别的交互作用表明，仅在老年组中女性比男性更具优势。通过反馈和练习，参与者有所进步，但年龄效应仍然显著。在第二个实验中，20名年轻女性和17名老年女性在鼻孔被堵塞的情况下尝试同样的识别任务。当嗅觉丧失时，年轻女性首次接触时的表现降至与老年女性相同的水平。文中讨论了认知、味觉和嗅觉/三叉神经因素对化学感应功能与年龄相关衰退的相对贡献。
