A measure of smell enables the creation of olfactory metamers

Aharon Ravia (), Kobi Snitz, Danielle Honigstein, Maya Finkel, Rotem Zirler, Ofer Perl, Lavi Secundo, Christophe Laudamiel, David Harel and Noam Sobel ()
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Aharon Ravia: Weizmann Institute of Science
Kobi Snitz: Weizmann Institute of Science
Danielle Honigstein: Weizmann Institute of Science
Maya Finkel: Weizmann Institute of Science
Rotem Zirler: Weizmann Institute of Science
Ofer Perl: Weizmann Institute of Science
Lavi Secundo: Weizmann Institute of Science
Christophe Laudamiel: DreamAir LLC
David Harel: Weizmann Institute of Science
Noam Sobel: Weizmann Institute of Science

Nature, 2020, vol. 588, issue 7836, 118-123

Abstract: Abstract Wavelength is a physical measure of light, and the intricate understanding of its link to perceived colour enables the creation of perceptual entities such as metamers—non-overlapping spectral compositions that generate identical colour percepts1. By contrast, scientists have been unable to develop a physical measure linked to perceived smell, even one that merely reflects the extent of perceptual similarity between odorants2. Here, to generate such a measure, we collected perceptual similarity estimates of 49,788 pairwise odorants from 199 participants who smelled 242 different multicomponent odorants and used these data to refine a predictive model that links odorant structure to odorant perception3. The resulting measure combines 21 physicochemical features of the odorants into a single number—expressed in radians—that accurately predicts the extent of perceptual similarity between multicomponent odorant pairs. To assess the usefulness of this measure, we investigated whether we could use it to create olfactory metamers. To this end, we first identified a cut-off in the measure: pairs of multicomponent odorants that were within 0.05 radians of each other or less were very difficult to discriminate. Using this cut-off, we were able to design olfactory metamers—pairs of non-overlapping molecular compositions that generated identical odour percepts. The accurate predictions of perceptual similarity, and the ensuing creation of olfactory metamers, suggest that we have obtained a valid olfactory measure, one that may enable the digitization of smell.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2891-7

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