An integrated model of intensity and quality of odor mixtures

Several models of how odors mix to form new percepts have been presented during the last decades. Almost all these models have concerned the perceived intensity of mixtures rather than the perceived quality of mixtures. In 1994 Olsson suggested an integrated model for how perceived intensity and quality of the mixture can be predicted from the perceived intensities of the single substances. A generalized version of this model is proposed here. The model can be viewed as an extension of vector summation. The current study reviews support for this model. In doing that, assumptions of the model are defined and tested against data. It is shown how odor interaction, when the process is seen from the view of the observer, reduces to a set of simple rules that are consistent across levels of intensity and combinations of odorants.