Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Olfactory impairment in monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia

  • ORIGINAL PAPER
  • Published:
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

Several studies demonstrated olfactory dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia, some reported deficient olfaction in unaffected relatives of schizophrenics as well. This study differentially assessed olfactory acuity as well as smell identification and smell discrimination in monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia and healthy, monozygotic control twins, to determine the genetic basis of different olfactory modalities and their association to schizophrenia.

Method

The Sniffin’Sticks test,a comprehensive and standardized olfactory test, was employed to assess the olfactory function of 10 monozygotic twin pairs discordant for schizophrenia versus 10 age- and sexmatched healthy,monozygotic twin pairs.

Results

Olfaction of affected monozygotic twins was globally impaired. Partial olfactory impairment of their unaffected co–twins may point to a genetic cause of olfactory impairment in schizophrenia. The influence of genetic factors was most evident for olfactory acuity and least evident for smell identification. All olfactory functions declined with duration of illness. Side of stimulus presentation did not influence olfactory performance.

Conclusions

Genetic factors associated with olfactory dysfunction may contribute to schizophrenia. The degree of the genetic influence on olfaction depends on the olfactory domain under examination.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Andreasen NC (1983) Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS). Iowa City, IA, University of Iowa

  2. Andreasen NC (1984) Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS). Iowa City, IA, University of Iowa

  3. Bradley EA (1984) Olfactory acuity to a pheromonal substance and psychotic illness. Biol Psychiatry 19:899–905

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Erdmann J, Noethen MM, Stratmann M, Fimmers R, Franzek E, Propping P (1993) The use of microsatellites in zygosity diagnosis of twins. Acta Genet Med Gemellol 42:45–51

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Eskenazi B, Cain WS, Novelly RA, Mattson R (1986) Odor perception in temporal lobe epilepsy patients with and without temporal lobectomy. Neuropsychologia 24:553–562

    Google Scholar 

  6. Crespo-Facorro B, Paradiso S, Andreasen NC, O’Leary DS, Watkins GL, Ponto LL, Hichwa RD (2001) Neural mechanisms of anhedonia in schizophrenia: a PET study of response to unpleasant and pleasant odors. Jama 286:427–435

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Doty RL, Shaman P, Dann M (1984) Development of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test. A standardized microencapsulated test of olfactory function. Physiolog Behav 32:489–502

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Geddes J, Huws R, Pratt P (1991) Olfactory acuity in the positive and negative syndromes of schizophrenia. Biol Psychiatry 29:774–778

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Hurwitz TA, Kopala L, Clark C, Jones B (1988) Olfactory deficits in schizophrenia. Biol Psychiatry 23:123–128

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Isseroff RG, Stoler M, Ophir C, Lancet D, Sirota P (1987) Olfactory sensitivity to androsterone in schizophrenic patients. Biol Psychiatry 22:922–925

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Jones-Gotman M, Zatorre RJ (1988) Olfactory identification deficits in patients with focal cerebral excisions. Neuropychology 26:387–400

    Google Scholar 

  12. Kobal G, Hummel T, Sekinger B, Barz S, Roscher S,Wolf S (1996) “Sniffin’ sticks”: screening of olfactory performance. Rhinology 34:222–226

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Kohler CG, Moberg PJ, Gur RE, O’Connor MJ, Sperling MR, Doty RL (2001) Olfactory dysfunction in schizophrenia and temporal lobe epilepsy. Neuropsychiatry Neuropsychol Behav Neurol 14:83–88

    Google Scholar 

  14. Kopala L, Clark C (1990) Implications of olfactory agnosia for understanding sex differences in schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 16:255–261

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Kopala LC, Clark C, Hurwitz TA (1992) Olfactory deficits in neuroleptic naive patients with schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 8:245–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Kopala LC, Good KP, Torrey EF, Honer WG (1998) Olfactory dysfunction in monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry 155:134–136

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Kopala LC, Good KP, Morrison K, Bassett AS, Alda M, Honer WG (2001) Impaired olfactory identification in relatives of patients with familial schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry 158:1286–1290

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Lancet D, Gross Isseroff R, Seidman LJ, Ben-Arie N (1993) Olfaction: from signal transduction and termination to human genome mapping. Chemical Senses 81:217–225

    Google Scholar 

  19. Malaspina D, Coleman E (2003) Olfaction and social drive in schizophrenia. Arch Gen Psychiatry 60:578–584

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Moberg PJ, Doty RL, Mahr RN, Mesholam RI, Arnold SE, Turetsky BI, Gur RE (1997) Olfactory identification in elderly schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. Neurobiol Aging 18:163–167

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Moberg PJ, Doty RL, Turetsky BI, Arnold SE, Mahr RN, Gur RC, Bilker W, Gur RE (1997) Olfactory identification deficits in schizophrenia: correlation with duration of illness. Am J Psychiatry 154:1016–1018

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Moberg PJ, Agrin R, Gur RE, Gur RC, Turetsky BI, Doty RL (1999) Olfactory dysfunction in schizophrenia: a qualitative and quantitative review. Neuropsychopharmacology 21:325–340

    Google Scholar 

  23. Mohr C, Rohrenbach CM, Laska M, Brugger P (2001) Unilateral olfactory perception and magical ideation. Schizophr Res 47:255–264

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Overall JE, Gorham DR (1962) The brief psychiatric rating scale. Psychological Reports 19:799–812

    Google Scholar 

  25. Park S, Holzman P (1992) Schizophrenics show spatial working memory deficits. Arch Gen Psychiatry 49:975–982

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Park S, Schoppe S (1997) Olfactory identification deficit in relation to schizotypy. Schizophr Res 26:191–197

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Pernoll M (1991) Current obstetrics and gynaecology. Diagnosis and treatment. Prentice Hall, London

  28. Potter H, Butters N (1980) An assessment of olfactory deficits in patients with damage to prefrontal cortex. Neuropsychologia 18:621–628

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Purdon SE (1998) Olfactory identification and Stroop interference converge in schizophrenia. J Psychiatry Neurosci 23:163–171

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Rausch R, Serafetinides EA (1975) Specific alterations of olfactory function in humans with temporal lobe lesions. Nature 255:557–558

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Segal NL, Topolski TD, Wilson SM, Brown KW, Araki L (1995) Twin analysis of odor identification and perception. Physiol Behav 57:605–609

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Seidman LJ, Talbot NL, Kalinowski AG, McCarley RW, Faraone SV, Kremen WS, Pepple JR, Tsuang MT (1992) Neuropsychological probes of fronto-limbic system dysfunction in schizophrenia. Olfactory identification and Wisconsin Card Sorting performance. Schizophr Res 6:55–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Serby M, Larson P, Kalkstein D (1990) Olfactory sense in psychoses. Biol Psychiatry 28:829–830

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Shepherd GM (1994) Discrimination of molecular signals by the olfactory receptor neuron. Neuron 13:771–790

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Silver H, Feldmann P, Bilker W, Gur RC (2003) Working memory deficit as a core neuropsychological dysfunction in schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry 160:1809–1816

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Sirota P, Davidson B, Mosheva T, Benhatov R, Zohar J, Gross Isseroff R (1999) Increased olfactory sensitivity in first episode psychosis and the effect of neuroleptic treatment on olfactory sensitivity in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res 86:143–153

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Smutzer GS, Trojanowski JQ, Lee VM-Y, Arnold SE (1998) Human olfactory mucosa in schizophrenia. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 107:349–355

    Google Scholar 

  38. Stata Corporation (1999) Stata Statistical Software: Release 6.0

    Google Scholar 

  39. Tanabe T, Yarita H, Ooshima Y, Takagi SF (1975) An olfactory projection area in orbitofrontal cortex of the monkey. Neuroscience 4:1269–1283

    Google Scholar 

  40. Turetzky BI, Moberg PJ, Yousem M, Doty RL, Arnold S, Gur RE (2000) Reduced olfactory bulb volume in patients with schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry 157:828–830

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Turetzky BI, Moberg PJ, Owzar K, Johnson SC, Doty RL, Gur RE (2003a) Physiologic impairment of olfactory stimulus processing in schizophrenia. Biological Psychiatry 53:403–411

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Turetzky BI, Moberg PJ, Arnold SE, Doty RL, Gur RE (2003b) Low olfactory bulb volume in first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry 160:703–708

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. World Health Organization (1991) Tenth Revision of the International Classification of diseases.Clinical Descriptions and Diagnostic Guidelines.World Health Organization, pp 87–94

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Klinik für Psychiatrie der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, Philosophenweg 3, 07740, Jena, Germany

    T. Ugur

  2. Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Germany

    M. Weisbrod & U. Pfüller

  3. Dept. of Psychiatry, Verslavingskliniek, Rotterdam Alexander, The Netherlands

    E. Franzek

  4. Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Jena, Germany

    H. Sauer

Authors
  1. T. Ugur
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. Weisbrod
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. E. Franzek
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. U. Pfüller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. H. Sauer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to T. Ugur.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ugur, T., Weisbrod, M., Franzek, E. et al. Olfactory impairment in monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 255, 94–98 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-004-0536-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-004-0536-8

Key words

Search

Navigation