Olfactory assessment using the NIH Toolbox
Abstract
The human olfactory system provides us with information about our environment that is critical to our physical and psychological well-being. Individuals can vary widely in their ability to detect, recognize, and identify odors, but still be within the range of normal function. Although several standardized tests of odor identification are available, few specifically address the issues in testing very young children, most of whom are likely to be unfamiliar with many of the odor stimuli used in adult tests and have limited ability to read and identify labels to select among choices. Based on the format of the San Diego Odor Identification Test and the delivery system of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test, we developed 2 versions of an odor identification test using standardized odor stimuli in a scratch-and-sniff format in which participants match 5 (children) or 9 (adults) odors to pictures representing the odor source. Results from normative testing and validation showed that for most participants, the test could be completed in 5 minutes or less and that the poorer performance among the youngest children and the elderly was consistent with data from tests with larger numbers of items. Expanding on the pediatric version of the test with adult-specific and public health–relevant odors increased the ecological validity of the test and facilitated comparisons of intraindividual performance across developmental stages.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Neurology®
Volume 80 • Number 11_supplement_3 • March 12, 2013
Pages: S32-S36
Copyright
© 2013 American Academy of Neurology.
Publication History
Received: August 8, 2012
Accepted: November 26, 2012
Published online: March 11, 2013
Published in print: March 12, 2013
Authors
Author Contributions
Dr. Dalton: study concept and design, data interpretation, and primary authorship of the manuscript. Dr. Doty: data interpretation and critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content. Dr. Murphy, Dr. Frank, Mr. Hoffman: data interpretation and critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content. Mr. Maute: participation in the study concept and design and revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content. Dr. Kallen: data analysis and interpretation. Dr. Slotkin: participation in the study concept and design, study supervision, and revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content.
Disclosure
P. Dalton received grant funding from the Department of Defense (ARO) and the NIH (R01 DC 03275 and a subproject in P50 DC 006760) and received research support from Altria Inc., International Flavors & Fragrances, Reckitt Benckiser, Cadbury, and SC Johnson Company. She has been a consultant to Johnson & Johnson Co., Reckitt Benckiser, and an expert witness for legal proceedings to Premium Standard Farms (McGuire Woods, attorneys), and the City of Philadelphia. She has received honoraria from Columbia University, Mount Sinai Medical Center, and the International Fragrance Association. R. Doty receives grant funding from the NIH (RO1 MH 59852; RO1 MH 63381) and the Department of Defense (USAMRAA W81XWH-09-1-0467). He is a consultant to NIH grants RO1 AG041795 and U54 HD028138, and a mentor on NIH K01 MH090548-01. He is President and major shareholder of Sensonics, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of tests of taste and smell. Over the last 2 years, he has been a consultant to Intelligent Beauty, Pfizer Inc., PBS Television, NIH, Western Medical Assessments, and a witness or consultant for legal proceedings. During this time, he received publishing royalties from Cambridge University Press, Informa, and Johns Hopkins University Press and honoraria from the American Academy of Oral Medicine, Australasian Association for ChemoSensory Science, Columbia University, Harvard University, Hospital ABC (Mexico City), Merck Pharmaceuticals, Monash University, and Mt. Sinai Medical Center. C. Murphy is funded by NIA grant R01 AG04085-24 and NIDCD grant DC02064-14. R. Frank, H. Hoffman, C. Maute, M. Kallen, and J. Slotkin report no disclosures. Go to Neurology.org for full disclosures.
Study Funding
This study is funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, National Institutes of Health, under contract no. HHS-N-260-2006-00007-C and with support from the US Army Research Office under grant no. W911NF-11-1-0087.
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