Human olfactory perception embeds fine temporal resolution within a single sniff

Yuli Wu, Kepu Chen, Chen Xing, Meihe Huang, Kai Zhao and Wen Zhou ()
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Yuli Wu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Kepu Chen: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chen Xing: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Meihe Huang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Kai Zhao: Ohio State University
Wen Zhou: Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature Human Behaviour, 2024, vol. 8, issue 11, 2168-2178

Abstract: Abstract A sniff in humans typically lasts one to three seconds and is commonly considered to produce a long-exposure shot of the chemical environment that sets the temporal limit of olfactory perception. To break this limit, we devised a sniff-triggered apparatus that controls odorant deliveries within a sniff with a precision of 18 milliseconds. Using this apparatus, we show through rigorous psychophysical testing of 229 participants (649 sessions) that two odorants presented in one order and its reverse become perceptually discriminable when the stimulus onset asynchrony is merely 60 milliseconds (Cohen’s d = 0.48; 95% confidence interval, (55, 59); 120-millisecond difference). Discrimination performance improves with the length of stimulus onset asynchrony and is independent of explicit knowledge of the temporal order of odorants or the relative amount of odorant molecules accumulated in a sniff. Our findings demonstrate that human olfactory perception is sensitive to chemical dynamics within a single sniff and provide behavioural evidence for a temporal code of odour identity.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-01984-8

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