Abstracts - Association for Chemoreception Sciences

#P145 POSTER SESSION III:
TRIGEMINAL; HUMAN OLFACTORY
PSYCHOPHYSICS; TASTE PERIPHERY
Perception of large and small odorant molecules –
A study investigating the olfactory perception as a
function of age and odorant molecular size
Laura Puschmann, Charlotte Sinding, Thomas Hummel
Smell & Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology,
University of Dresden Medical School Dresden, Germany
For various sensory systems selective functional limitations with
increasing age were detected. In vision and hearing it shows in
hyperopia or an increased hearing threshold for high frequencies.
But what about the olfactory system? While some studies suggest
a general olfactory impairment, others allow assumptions of
partial processes. In this study the influence of odorant molecular
size was examined for the olfactory perception in different ages.
Olfactory threshold tests were conducted at two age groups
(group 1: 18 to 30 years, group 2: 50 to 70 years). We used single
odorants, bimolecular odorants and perfumes, each consisting of
large or small molecules. The results of these studies showed no
differences for large and small odorant molecules in the young
group of subjects. Whereas they were perceived differently by the
50 to 70 year-old. The latter had significantly higher thresholds
for large olfactory molecules. This phenomenon however, was
detected only for mono- and bimolecular odorants. Perfumes
were perceived similar in both groups. In Conclusion we can
hypothesize differing processes for odor perception of small and
big odorant molecules in different age-groups at the receptor
level. Moreover perfumes seem to generate more complex
olfactory information. The existence of partial processes on
olfactory impairment with increasing age is expected for the
olfactory system, too. Acknowledgements: This project was
supported by a grant from DFG Schwerpunktprogramm (SPP)
1392 - Integrative Analysis of Olfaction to Thomas Hummel. In
addition we thank Fragrance Resources GmbH, Hamburg for
cooperation.
#P146 POSTER SESSION III:
TRIGEMINAL; HUMAN OLFACTORY
PSYCHOPHYSICS; TASTE PERIPHERY
Odor Identification and Cognition in a Nationally
Representative Sample of Older Adults
L. Philip Schumm 1 , David W. Kern 2 , Kristen E. Wroblewski 1 , Jayant
M. Pinto 3 , Ashwin A. Kotwal 4 , William Dale 4 , Martha K. McClintock 2
1
Department of Health Studies, University of Chicago Chicago, IL,
USA, 2 Comparative Human Development and Institute for Mind
and Biology, University of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA, 3 Section of
Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery,
University of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA, 4 Department of Medicine,
Section of Geriatrics & Palliative Medicine, University of Chicago
Chicago, IL, USA
Errors in odor identification are associated with subsequent
cognitive impairment in populations clinically at risk for
Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases. However, such associations
have not been investigated in the general U.S. population.
We administered a 5-item test of odor identification to a U.S.
national probability sample of 3,005 community-dwelling adults
aged 57–85 in 2005–6 (Wave 1); respondents and their spouses
were then retested in 2010–1 (Wave 2). Odors were presented
using Sniffin’ Sticks, and respondents were asked to identify
each from among four word-picture options. Respondents
in Wave 2 also completed the Chicago Cognitive Function
Measure (C-CFM), a survey instrument assessing eight distinct
cognitive domains, derived from the Montreal Cognitive
Assessment (MoCA). The C-CFM is 30% faster, with scores
ranging from 0–20 (mean = 13.5, SD = 4.1) that correlate highly
with the MoCA (r = 0.97). In a multiple regression model of
C-CFM on odor identification score in Wave 2 (n = 2,076),
each additional odor identification error was associated with
a reduction in C-CFM score of 0.61 (95% CI = (0.44, 0.77); p