[Posturographic registration of body sway after odor stimulation]

The methods of "reflex olfactometry" are rarely able to detect simulated anosmia because of the lack of reproducible correlations between stimulus and intensity of reaction. Interactions between the olfactory and vestibulospinal systems have not yet been investigated. Thirty persons with normosmia and 21 patients with anosmia were studied using a posturographic platform. Only in subjects with normosmia were body sway increases statistically significant in an anterior-posterior direction after the application of an olfactory nerve stimulant. Stimulations of the trigeminal nerve cause both in subjects with normosmia, and anosmia an increase in body sway occurred in a sagittal and lateral direction. The recording of vestibulospinal reactions during platform posturography after application of an olfactory stimulations enables quantification of body sway. These responses can also be useful in differentiating real from stimulated anosmia.