2021/02/17 by Robert Pellegrino, Michael C. Farruggia, Dana M. Small +1 · 1 citation
Neuroscience · Engineering · Psychology · Medicine · #Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies #Advanced Chemical Sensor Technologies #Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research #Hyposmia #Olfactory system #Ventromedial prefrontal cortex #Neuroscience #Anosmia #Olfaction #Psychology #Anterior cingulate cortex #Piriform cortex #Orbitofrontal cortex #Amygdala #Prefrontal cortex #Medicine #Internal medicine #Cognition
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41598-021-83621-2
openalex publication_date 2021/02/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Olfactory impairment after a traumatic impact to the head is associated with changes in olfactory cortex, including decreased gray matter density and decreased BOLD response to odors. Much less is known about the role of other cortical areas in olfactory impairment. We used fMRI in a sample of 63 participants, consisting of 25 with post-traumatic functional anosmia, 16 with post-traumatic hyposmia, and 22 healthy controls with normosmia to investigate whole brain response to odors. Similar neural responses were observed across the groups to odor versus odorless stimuli in the primary olfactory areas in piriform cortex, whereas response in the frontal operculum and anterior insula (fO/aI) increased with olfactory function (normosmia > hyposmia > functional anosmia). Unexpectedly, a negative association was observed between response and olfactory perceptual function in the mediodorsal thalamus (mdT), ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (pCC). Finally, connectivity within a network consisting of vmPFC, fO, and pCC could be used to successfully classify participants as having functional anosmia or normosmia. We conclude that, at the neural level, olfactory impairment due to head trauma is best characterized by heightened responses and differential connectivity in higher-order areas beyond olfactory cortex.