Perceptual, affective, and cognitive judgments of odors: pleasantness and handedness effects.

Full Abstract

The present study sought to examine the differential processing of pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant odors. The effects of the nostril stimulated (left or right) and the type of judgment (perceptual, affective, or cognitive) performed on the olfactory stimuli were also studied. To this end, 64 subjects were asked to smell pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant odors under four conditions (detection, intensity, pleasantness, and familiarity tasks). The participants were to perform these tasks as quickly as possible, while response times were recorded. The results showed that (i) unpleasant odors were assessed more rapidly than neutral or pleasant odors, and that this was specifically true (ii) during right nostril stimulation, and (iii) during pleasantness assessment, suggesting possible differential cerebral hemisphere involvement, with a right-side advantage for processing of unpleasant affect in olfaction. A handedness effect on familiarity judgment is also discussed.

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Author information

Author/s: Bensafi, Moustafa (M); Rouby, Catherine (C); Farget, Vincent (V); Bertrand, Bernard (B); Vigouroux, Michel (M); Holley, André (A);

Affiliation: CNRS UMR 5020, Laboratoire de Neurosciences et Systèmes Sensoriels, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 50 avenue Tony Garnier, 69366 Lyon Cedex 07, France. bensafi(-atsign-)olfac.univ-lyon1.fr

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Brain and cognition (Brain Cogn), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-Apr; vol 51 (issue 3) : pp 270-5

Dates: Created 2003/05/02; Completed 2003/07/01; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12727181, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Affect
Attitude
Female
Functional Laterality - physiology

Humans
Judgment
Male
Odors
Smell - physiology

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