Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2025
08:30
Imaging Odor-Evoked Activities in the Mouse Olfactory Bulb using Optical Reflectance and Autofluorescence Signals
Published on: October 31, 2011
16.1K
Odors modulate color appearance
Ryan J Ward1,2, Maliha Ashraf3, Sophie Wuerger4
1Department of Computer Science and Mathematics, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Frontiers in Psychology
|October 23, 2023
Summary
Smell influences sight! This study shows that odors can alter human color perception, shifting the neutral gray point towards warmer hues. This demonstrates a crossmodal effect between olfaction and vision.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Sensory Perception
Background:
- The brain integrates multisensory information, impacting subjective experiences.
- Crossmodal correspondences link features across sensory modalities, influencing perception.
- Vision often dominates, affecting other senses like olfaction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how different odors affect human color perception.
- To explore the influence of olfactory stimuli on visual achromatic judgments.
Main Methods:
- Participants performed a neutral gray task, adjusting a color patch to be hue-less.
- Olfactory stimuli (five different odors) were presented during the task.
- The shift in the perceived neutral gray point was measured.
Main Results:
- A small but systematic effect of odors on color perception was observed.
- The perceived neutral gray point shifted towards warmer colors.
- Four out of five odors showed trends aligning with expected crossmodal correspondences (e.g., cherry odor biasing towards red-brown).
Conclusions:
- Olfactory stimuli can systematically alter human color perception.
- This provides evidence for crossmodal interactions between smell and color vision.
- Crossmodal correspondences play a role in integrating olfactory and visual information.
Related Concept Videos
01:25Olfaction
44.4K
The sense of smell is achieved through the activities of the olfactory system. It starts when an airborne odorant enters the nasal cavity and reaches olfactory epithelium (OE). The OE is protected by a thin layer of mucus, which also serves the purpose of dissolving more complex compounds into simpler chemical odorants. The size of the OE and the density of sensory neurons varies among species; in humans, the OE is only about 9-10 cm2.
The olfactory receptors are embedded in the cilia of the...
The olfactory receptors are embedded in the cilia of the...
44.4K
01:20Physiology of Smell and Olfactory Pathway
8.6K
Humans detect odors with the help of specialized cells located in the upper part of the nasal cavity, called olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). ORNs possess hair-like structures called cilia, which are receptive to sensations from the inhaled air. When an odorant molecule binds to a specific receptor on the cell of the cilia, it leads to a series of events that ultimately cause the ORN to send electrical signals to the olfactory bulb in the brain through the olfactory nerves.
The olfactory...
The olfactory...
8.6K
01:21G-Protein Gated Ion Channels
4.6K
GPCRs are primarily responsible for our sense of smell, taste, and vision. The binding of a sensory stimulus activates GPCR to stimulate effector proteins, many of which are ion channels in the sensory organs. GPCRs modulate the opening and closing of the target ion channels either directly by binding them, or by releasing second messengers that activate these channels. As ions move across the membrane, the membrane potential is altered, which induces an appropriate response.
Sensory...
Sensory...
4.6K
01:22Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways
6.1K
At the molecular level, visual signals trigger transformations in photopigment molecules, resulting in changes in the photoreceptor cell's membrane potential. The photon's energy level is denoted by its wavelength, with each specific wavelength of visible light associated with a distinct color. The spectral range of visible light, classified as electromagnetic radiation, spans from 380 to 720 nm. Electromagnetic radiation wavelengths exceeding 720 nm fall under the infrared category,...
6.1K
01:24Color Vision
593
Color perception begins in the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye. Two main theories explain how colors are seen: the trichromatic theory and the opponent-process theory. The trichromatic theory, proposed by Thomas Young in 1802 and extended by Hermann von Helmholtz in 1852, suggests that color vision is based on three types of cone receptors in the retina. These cones are sensitive to different but overlapping ranges of wavelengths corresponding to red, blue, and green.
593
02:39Indicators
48.7K
Certain organic substances change color in dilute solution when the hydronium ion concentration reaches a particular value. For example, phenolphthalein is a colorless substance in any aqueous solution with a hydronium ion concentration greater than 5.0 × 10−9 M (pH < 8.3). In more basic solutions where the hydronium ion concentration is less than 5.0 × 10−9 M (pH > 8.3), it is red or pink. Substances such as phenolphthalein, which can be used to determine the pH of a solution, are...
48.7K