Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Jun;134(6):621-4.
doi: 10.1001/archotol.134.6.621.

Correlation of olfactory function with changes in the volume of the human olfactory bulb

Antje Haehner  1 , Antje Rodewald, Johannes C Gerber, Thomas Hummel
Affiliations

Correlation of olfactory function with changes in the volume of the human olfactory bulb

Antje Haehner et al. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2008 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate changes of olfactory bulb (OB) volume over time in relation to olfactory function.

Design: Prospective, before-after trial.

Setting: Outpatient clinic of a university clinic for otorhinolaryngology.

Patients: A total of 20 patients with olfactory loss participated in the study. The duration of olfactory deficits ranged from 3 months to 6 years.

Main outcome measures: Olfactory function was assessed for phenyl ethyl alcohol odor threshold, odor discrimination, and odor identification. Olfactory bulb volume was determined using magnetic resonance imaging.

Results: In initially hyposmic patients (n = 13), changes in OB volume were found to correlate with odor threshold changes (r = 0.82; P = .001); no such correlation was found for odor discrimination or odor identification.

Conclusion: As demonstrated in a longitudinal study for the first time to our knowledge, the human OB is a highly plastic structure that responds to individual changes in olfactory status.

PubMed Disclaimer