Abstract
Individuals can determine the side of the nose that receives an odorant during unilateral presentation (lateralize) if endings of the trigeminal nerve are stimulated. By using psychophysical methods, olfactory detection and trigeminal lateralization thresholds for l-butanol were obtained from 142 individuals ranging in age from 20 to 89 years. Sensitivity in both chemosensory pathways declined with advancing age, especially in people older than 60 years.
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Financial support was obtained in part from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (P50 DC00214 and RO1 DC00298), the Fogarty Center (F05 TW04839) at the National Institutes of Health, and the Eugene Garfield Foundation. Barry Green contributed to the development of the lateralization test protocol.
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Wysocki, C.J., Cowart, B.J. & Radil, T. Nasal trigeminal chemosensitivity across the adult life span. Perception & Psychophysics 65, 115–122 (2003). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03194788
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03194788