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
Review
. 2022;10(4):393-404.
doi: 10.1007/s40136-022-00429-y. Epub 2022 Sep 13.

Psychophysical Testing in Chemosensory Disorders

Miriam Fahmy  1   2 , Katherine Whitcroft  1   3   4   5
Affiliations
Review

Psychophysical Testing in Chemosensory Disorders

Miriam Fahmy et al. Curr Otorhinolaryngol Rep. 2022.

Abstract

Purpose of review: To provide an overview of psychophysical testing in olfaction and gustation.

Recent findings: Subjective patient report correlates poorly with objective assessment of olfaction and gustation. It is therefore important that clinicians and researchers perform psychophysical testing during chemosensory assessment. There are several validated psychophysical tests of olfaction and gustation, with ongoing developments accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. These tests have been culturally and linguistically adapted globally. Screening tests have been developed with careful consideration to distinguish normosmics from those with olfactory dysfunction.

Summary: Validated chemosensory tools are available for use by the clinician to support screening, diagnosis, or monitoring. There are promising advances in self-assessment and screening that provide avenues for the development of a standardised pathway for identification and formal assessment of patients with smell and taste disorders.

Keywords: Chemosensory assessment; Olfactory and gustatory assessment and screening; Psychophysical testing and assessment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of InterestThe authors declare no competing interests.

References

    1. Pinto JM, Wroblewski KE, Kern DW, Schumm LP, McClintock MK. Olfactory dysfunction predicts 5-year mortality in older adults. PLoS One. 2014;9:e107541. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0107541. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Devanand DP, Lee S, Manly J, Andrews H, Schupf N, Masurkar A, Stern Y, Mayeux R, Doty RL. Olfactory identification deficits and increased mortality in the community. Ann Neurol. 2015;78:401–411. doi: 10.1002/ana.24447. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Schubert CR, Fischer ME, Pinto AA, Klein BEK, Klein R, Tweed TS, Cruickshanks KJ. Sensory impairments and risk of mortality in older adults. J Gerontol Ser A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2017;72:710–715. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glw036. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Desiato VM, Levy DA, Byun YJ, Nguyen SA, Soler ZM, Schlosser RJ. The prevalence of olfactory dysfunction in the general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Rhinol Allergy. 2021;35:195–205. doi: 10.1177/1945892420946254. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Weiss T, Soroka T, Gorodisky L, Shushan S, Snitz K, Weissgross R, Furman-Haran E, Dhollander T, Sobel N. Human olfaction without apparent olfactory bulbs. Neuron. 2020;105:35–45.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.10.006. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources