Presentation Details
| Intensity Alters Identity: Odor Quality Shifts Across Concentration Aurora E.Anderson1, 2, Elizabeth A.Hamel1, Xuebo Song1, Christiane Danilo1, Robert Pellegrino1, Joel D.Mainland1. 1Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA.2University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA |
Abstract
Although most odor atlases describe the odor character of a given molecule using a single description, odor character can change across intensities. Other sensory modalities have similar phenomena, for example the Bezold-Brucke effect in color vision where hue varies with luminescence and the Zurmuhl-Stevens effect in audition, where perceived pitch varies with sound pressure. Previous work established that odor quality differs at low and high intensities, but modeling how and where this shift occurs has remained unclear. To address this gap, we asked 15 trained participants to rate the applicability of 51 odor descriptors of 25 odorants. Each odorant was tested at 6 intensities chosen to span from low to high perceived intensity, allowing odor quality to be modeled as a continuous function of concentration. For 16% of odorants, variation within a molecule exceeded typical character differences seen between molecules (mean cosine distance = 1.14). This variability indicates that individual odorants can evoke a richer range of percepts by occupying different regions of descriptor space across intensities. Developing a predictive framework for this diversity of character expands our ability to manipulate, reformulate, and generate desired odor qualities.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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