Lateralization in human nasal chemoreception: differences in bilateral electrodermal responses related to olfactory and trigeminal stimuli

Abstract

The study of olfactory lateralization in humans has given rise to many publications, but the findings have often been contradictory. There is growing evidence to suggest that the nature of the olfactory stimulus influences the processes of lateralization. An important factor could be the trigeminal component. Indeed, most odorants simultaneously stimulate both olfactory (CN I) and trigeminal (CN V) systems which differ in terms of their central projections, ipsilaterally for CN I and contralaterally for CN V. The aim of this study was to investigate variations in psychophysiological measurements between a nasal input with low (phenyl ethyl alcohol (PEA)) and high (allyl isothiocyanate (AIC)) intranal trigeminal stimulation. In a first experiment (20 subjects), the intensity, hedonicity and irritation levels of stimulus were tested with a psychophysical evaluation to study the possible influences of perceptual characteristics. A second experiment (37 subjects) used bilateral electrodermal recordings and compared the skin conductance responses (SCRs) for both nasal inputs on either monorhinal and birhinal stimulations. Firstly, the electrodermal activity (EDA) results showed no differences between the two nostrils for PEA as well as AIC, but differences in relation to the type of stimulus, e.g. higher amplitude in response to AIC versus PEA. Secondly, the results indicated bilateral differences in EDA recordings related to the nature of the stimulus and are discussed in terms of hemispheric asymmetric activation.