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Updated: Jun 3, 2025

A Free-breathing fMRI Method to Study Human Olfactory Function
Published on: July 30, 2017
Neural correlates of olfactory working memory in the human brain
Zhuofeng Li1, Shu-Bin Li2, Shaozhen Tan3
1Chemical Senses and Mental Health Lab, Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Olfactory working memory involves brain regions used in other tasks and is enhanced by verbalization. This study used fMRI to explore the neural basis of odor memory and verbalization effects.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Previous research identified brain regions active during odor memory, including the insula and hippocampus.
- Olfactory working memory performance is influenced by odor verbalization, but underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural mechanisms of olfactory working memory.
- To examine the role of verbalizability in olfactory working memory using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
Main Methods:
- Twenty-nine participants completed olfactory and visual n-back tasks with varying verbalizability stimuli during fMRI.
- Behavioral accuracy and brain activation patterns were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Visual tasks showed higher accuracy than olfactory tasks.
- Olfactory working memory activated regions like the precentral and superior frontal gyri.
- High-verbalizability odors showed stronger activation in the left angular and inferior parietal gyri.
- A unique pattern of decreased activation was observed in the olfactory 2-back task compared to the 0-back task.
Conclusions:
- Olfactory working memory utilizes cross-modal regions and involves information monitoring and manipulation.
- Verbalization of odors enhances olfactory working memory representation, supported by semantic information processing.
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