Human Olfaction

Abstract

Olfaction, or sense of smell, is one of the many sensory/perceptual systems that humans use to process external stimuli. Human olfaction is relatively understudied. More literature has focused on olfaction in animals for which olfaction plays a larger role in critical functioning and survival. This bibliography provides key resources for information about human olfaction and then outlines twelve general topics that are of considerable value to understanding this primary sensory system. It begins by providing some general resources that outline the functions of olfaction in humans. Next, it explores the anatomy and physiology of the human olfactory system, recognizing that our understanding has been largely guided by studying animals. It addresses several important theories of human olfaction, including ones that have attempted to understand the initial receptor-level processing of stimuli and ones that have been developed to explain the whole system. After considering some historical issues in studying olfaction, it outlines the various ways that human olfaction is studied. It considers some issues in olfaction that are related to cognitive processes, such as language and memory. A critical topic in the chemical senses of smell and taste that is somewhat less relevant in other sensory systems is that of hedonics (pleasure or liking). This bibliography explores sex differences, which, though small, seem to be more prevalent than in other sensory systems. In addition, this bibliography explores the effect of age on olfaction, both in terms of the development of olfaction in children and the decline of olfaction in aging. The entry ends with clinical implications, primarily of smell loss. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, which brought newfound appreciation for the importance of sense of smell in human experience, a summary of the effect of Covid-19 on human sense of smell is included. In this bibliography pioneering studies are emphasized, although reviews are included in cases where the literature is too extensive to be summed up by single studies.