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Age-Related Change in the Time Course of Perceived Odor Intensity

  • Published:
Chemosensory Perception

Abstract

Background

Olfactory function generally decreases with age. However, the ability of elderly people to sense a continuously presented odor, such as a gas leak, remains poorly characterized. In this study, we sought to determine whether the time course of perceived odor intensity differs among young, middle-aged, and older adults who had equivalent olfactory identification ability as young and middle-aged adults.

Methods

Three odorants were used: ethyl isobutyrate (EI), tertiary-butylmercaptan (TBM), and cyclohexene (CH). Participants evaluated perceived odor intensity for 600 s. Odors were presented at a constant concentration for 480 s; pure air also flowed for 20 s before and 100 s after odor presentation. Participants did not know the timing of the switches between odor and pure air or the duration of odor presentation.

Results

Differences in the time course of perceived intensity among groups were not observed during the air presentation period before odor presentation or the odor presentation period. On the other hand, during the air presentation period after ~60 s had elapsed after the end of odor presentation, only older adults, but not young and middle-aged adults, perceived an increase in the intensity of EI and TBM.

Conclusion

We concluded that this phenomenon might represent an elderly-specific sensory and/or psychological property that is revealed after exposure to a continuously presented odor.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., 1-5-20 Kaigan, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-8527, Japan

    Tomoko Matsubasa & Yasushiro Gomi

  2. Doctoral Program in Psychology, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8577, Japan

    Tomoko Matsubasa

  3. Human Informatics Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba Central 6, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8566, Japan

    Naomi Gotow & Tatsu Kobayakawa

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  1. Tomoko Matsubasa
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  4. Tatsu Kobayakawa
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Correspondence to Tatsu Kobayakawa.

Ethics declarations

This study was mainly conducted with funding from Tokyo Gas, and this sponsor had no control over the interpretation, writing, or publication of this work. And, this study was also partially supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant No. 26245073.

Conflict of Interest

Tatsu Kobayakawa has received research grant from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS KAKENHI Grant No. 26245073) and research funding from Tokyo Gas. Tomoko Matsubasa and Yasushiro Gomi are members of Tokyo Gas.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the ergonomic experiments committee of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Matsubasa, T., Gotow, N., Gomi, Y. et al. Age-Related Change in the Time Course of Perceived Odor Intensity. Chem. Percept. 9, 14–26 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-015-9200-0

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