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Related Experiment Videos

Modelling the human olfactory stimulus-response function

M Chastrette1, T Thomas-Danguin, E Rallet

  • 1Laboratoire de Chimie Organique Physique et Synthétique, CNRS UMR 5622, Université Claude Bernard Lyon, Villeurbanne, France.

Chemical Senses
|May 20, 1998
PubMed
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The Hill model accurately describes human olfactory responses across various concentrations, outperforming classical models like Fechner and Stevens. This model also explains complex responses as sums of peripheral receptor activities.

Area of Science:

  • Sensory science
  • Psychophysics
  • Computational neuroscience

Background:

  • Human olfactory stimulus-response relationships are complex.
  • Classical models like Fechner and Stevens have limitations in describing these relationships.
  • Novel models adapted from Michaelis-Menten and Hill equations offer potential improvements.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the efficacy of Michaelis-Menten and Hill models against classical Fechner and Stevens laws for human olfaction.
  • To evaluate model performance using existing literature data and simulated sigmoid curves with noise.
  • To investigate the hypothesis that olfactory responses are sums of peripheral sigmoidal responses.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic comparison of four models (Michaelis-Menten, Hill, Fechner, Stevens) using literature data for 20 odorants.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Testing models on simulated sigmoid stimulus-response curves with 5% added noise.
  • Examining the fit of Hill equations to sums of sigmoidal responses under varying receptor affinity distributions.

    • Main Results:

    • The Hill model demonstrated superior performance compared to Fechner and Stevens, especially at higher concentrations and when including the half-maximal intensity point.
    • Stevens' model performed comparably to Hill's at lower concentrations.
    • Simulated data confirmed the superiority of the Hill model, and its exponents reflected receptor affinity distributions.

    Conclusions:

    • The Hill equation is a robust model for human olfactory stimulus-response relationships, outperforming classical laws.
    • The model effectively represents complex olfactory perception as an aggregation of peripheral receptor responses.
    • The Hill model's exponents provide insights into the distribution of receptor affinities within the olfactory system.