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Updated: Nov 22, 2025

Olfactory Context Dependent Memory: Direct Presentation of Odorants
Published on: September 18, 2018
Accounting for Subjectivity in Experimental Research on Human Olfaction
Marylou Mantel1,2, Jean-Michel Roy2, Moustafa Bensafi1
1Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS UMR INSERM, CH Le Vinatier Bat, Bron, Cedex, France.
Abstract:
Although olfaction is a modality with great interindividual perceptual disparities, its subjective dimension has been let aside in modern research, in line with the overall neglect of consciousness in experimental psychology. However, following the renewed interest for the neural bases of consciousness, some methodological leads have been proposed to include subjectivity in experimental protocols. Here, we argue that adapting such methods to the field of olfaction will allow to rigorously acquire subjective reports, and we present several ways to do so. This will improve the understanding of diversity in odor perception and its underlying neural mechanisms.
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