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Updated: Dec 15, 2025

Controlled Cortical Impact Model for Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: August 5, 2014
Olfactory Dysfunction in Traumatic Brain Injury: the Role of Neurogenesis
Concepció Marin1,2, Cristóbal Langdon3,4,5, Isam Alobid3,4,5
1INGENIO, IRCE, Department 2B, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Villarroel 170, 08036, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. cmarin@clinic.cat.
Purpose Of Review:
Olfactory functioning disturbances are common following traumatic brain injury (TBI) having a significant impact on quality of life. A spontaneous recovery of the olfactory function over time may occur in TBI patients. Although there is no standard treatment for patients with posttraumatic olfactory loss, olfactory training (OT) has shown some promise beneficial effects. However, the mechanisms underlying spontaneous recovery and olfactory improvement induced by OT are not completely known.
Recent Findings:
The spontaneous recovery of the olfactory function and the improvement of olfactory function after OT have recently been associated with an increase in subventricular (SVZ) neurogenesis and an increase in olfactory bulb (OB) glomerular dopaminergic (DAergic) interneurons. In addition, after OT, an increase in electrophysiological responses at the olfactory epithelium (OE) level has been reported, indicating that recovery of olfactory function not only affects olfactory processing at the central level, but also at peripheral level. However, the role of OE stem cells in the spontaneous recovery and in the improvement of olfactory function after OT in TBI is still unknown. In this review, we describe the physiology of the olfactory system, and the olfactory dysfunction after TBI. We highlight the possible role for the SVZ neurogenesis and DAergic OB interneurons in the recovery of the olfactory function. In addition, we point out the relevance of the OE neurogenesis process as a future target for the research in the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the olfactory dysfunction in TBI. The potential of basal stem cells as a promising candidate for replacement therapies is also described.
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