A Redefinition of Odor Mixture Quality.

Odor mixtures are perceived as different from (configural) or the same as (elemental) their components. Recent studies (L. M. Kay, C. A. Lowry, & H. A. Jacobs, 2003; C. Wiltrout, S. Dogra, & C. Linster, 2003) propose that component structural or perceptual similarities predict configural properties of binary mixtures. The authors evaluated this in rats using 4 binary mixtures with varying structural similarity (eucalyptol-benzaldehyde, eugenol-benzaldehyde, octanol-octanal, and [+/-]-limonene). The range of tested ratios for each mixture was determined by the components' vapor pressures. Three results are presented: (a) No mixture maintains purely elemental or configural properties for all concentration ratios, (b) structural similarity or dissimilarity does not predict configural or elemental perception, and (c) overshadowing is significant in responses to all odor sets. The authors offer more precise definitions of elemental and configural properties and overshadowing as they relate to odor mixture perception. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Binary mixture perception is affected by concentration of odor components.

Some controversy still exists as to how binary odorant mixtures are behaviorally perceived, despite many studies aimed at understanding this phenomenon. Binary mixture perception by rodents is a first step in elucidating how more complex odor blends may be perceived. Research thus far has examined how the degree of component similarity, olfactory receptor overlap, relative concentration of components, and even olfactory enrichment affect the behavioral perception of binary mixtures. These studies have aimed to categorize binary mixtures into 1 of 3 rigid categories, but often the results conflict as to which category a particular mixture belongs. In the present article, the authors used a habituation/discrimination paradigm to determine whether rats' perception of one component of a binary mixture of either perceptually similar or dissimilar components changed when the concentration of both components was varied together. The authors found that perception of a binary mixture changed with changing component concentration, such that one binary mixture could be categorized differently depending on component intensity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A critical test of the overlap hypothesis for odor mixture perception.

The overlap hypothesis of mixture perception is based on the observation that mixtures of perceptually similar odorants tend to smell different from their components (configural), whereas mixtures of dissimilar odorants smell like their components (elemental). Because input patterns of perceptually similar odorants tend to overlap more than dissimilar ones, it has been hypothesized that component pattern overlap can predict a mixture's perceptual quality, with high overlap predicting a configural response and low overlap an elemental response. The authors used 7 pairs of odorants chosen for different degrees of overlap in their monomolecular 2-deoxyglucose activation patterns to test the theory in a go/no-go behavioral assay that measured generalization from binary mixtures to components. The authors show that individual component odorant input patterns are not sufficient to predict mixture quality, falsifying the overlap hypothesis. An important finding is that different odorant pairs with similar glomerular overlap showed opposite behavioral–perceptual responses, suggesting nonlinear effects at the receptor or glomerular level or the critical involvement of higher order areas. Thus, the authors posit that imaging the mixtures themselves may provide additional information needed to reliably predict mixture quality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Receptor contributions to configural and elemental odor mixture perception.

Odor mixture perception can be configural (the mixture is qualitatively different from the components) or elemental (the components are recognizable). Some have argued that configural properties are dependent on chemical similarity and possible overlap at the receptor level. The authors show that a binary mixture in which both components activate the same receptor (17) has a configural odor, whereas a mixture that suppresses overlap has elemental odor properties. Rats trained to recognize mixtures of citronellal and octanal (strong 17 agonists) in many ratios rarely recognize the components, supporting configural representation of the odor mixture. However, when trained to recognize mixtures of citral (partial 17 agonist, inhibitor) and octanal, rats recognize 1 or both components over a wide range of ratios. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multiple learning parameters differentially regulate olfactory generalization.

Sensory representations depend strongly on the descending regulation of perceptual processing. Generalization among similar stimuli is a fundamental cognitive process that defines the extent of the variance in physical stimulus properties that becomes categorized together and associated with a common contingency, thereby establishing units of meaning. The olfactory system provides an experimentally tractable model system in which to study the interactions of these physical and psychological factors within the framework of their underlying neurophysiological mechanisms. The authors here show that olfactory associative learning systematically regulates gradients of odor generalization. Specifically, increasing odor-reward pairings, odor concentration, or reward quality--each a determinant of associative learning--significantly transformed olfactory generalization gradients, each narrowing the range of variance in odor quality perceived as likely to share the learned contingency of a conditioned odor stimulus. However, differences in the qualitative features of these three transformations suggest that these different determinants of learning are not necessarily theoretically interchangeable. These results demonstrate that odor representations are substantially shaped by experience and descending influences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases attenuates anti-Thy1.1 nephritis

An understanding of the olfactory system of any animal must account for how odor mixtures are perceived and processed. The present experiments apply associationist models to the study of how elements are processed in binary odorant mixtures. Using experimental designs for Proboscis Extension Conditioning of honey bees, I show that learning about a pure odorant element is frequently affected by its occurrence in a mixture with a second odorant. Presence of a background odor when an odorant is associated with sucrose reinforcement decreases the rate and/or asymptotic level of associative strength that accumulates to that odorant. This interaction is in part due to synthetic qualities that arise in sensory transduction and initial processing. In addition, it involves an attention-like processing system like that involved in overshadowing. Therefore, a model that includes representations of the component and configural qualities of odorants in mixtures is needed to provide a more complete account of learning about odor mixtures.     

Perceptual and imaginary mixtures in chemosensation.

D. Algom and W. S. Cain (see record 1992-15186-001) reported similar interaction patterns for perceived and imaginary mixtures of odorants. However, their experimental design did not allow sensitive statistical testing to demonstrate differences between conditions. Three experiments on 16 mixtures of sucrose-citric acid mixtures yielded significantly different interaction patterns for perceived and imaginary mixtures. Inconsistencies in the degrees of suppression in the imaginary condition suggested that participants did not base their responses on the inspection of a mental image but on incomplete implicit or explicit knowledge of sensory interactions. Participants knew the phenomenon of mixture suppression and knew that its effects were level dependent, but they were unable to predict the exact intensity of a mixture on the basis of the intensities of its unmixed components. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Electrophysiological responses of single olfactory bulb neurons to binary mixtures of amino acids in the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus

1. For the first time in any vertebrate, responses of single olfactory bulb neurons to odorant mixtures were studied quantitatively in the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. 2. Extracellular electrophysiological responses of 61 single olfactory bulb neurons from 36 channel catfish to binary mixtures of amino acids and to their components were recorded simultaneously with the electro-olfactogram (EOG). Tested were a total of 297 mixture trials consisting of 18 different stimulus pairs formed from 8 amino acids. 3. For 42% (126 of the 297) of the tests, no significant change (N) from spontaneous activity occurred. Responses to the remaining 171 tests of binary mixtures were excitatory (E; 29%) or suppressive (S; 29%). No response type was associated with any specific mixture across the neurons sampled. 4. Mixture interactions that changed response types (E or S) from those observed to the individual components were rare, because 89% of the responses of single olfactory bulb neurons to the tested binary mixtures were classified similarly as the responses to at least one of the components. 5. Responses of single olfactory bulb neurons were generally predictable for binary mixtures whose component responses were classified as both E, both S, and both N. For binary mixtures whose component responses were classified differently (e.g., one component evoked excitatory responses and the other evoked suppressive responses), the predictability of the response was dependent on the specific mixture type.     

An empirical test of Olsson's interaction model using mixtures of tastants

In 1994, Olsson published a model predicting the intensity and quality of an odor mixture percept on the basis of the intensities of the unmixed components. Whether this model can also be used for mixtures of dissimilar tasting substances was investigated for sucrose/citric acid mixtures. The identification data revealed asymmetrical mixture suppression, which does not support the model. The intensity responses were in accordance with the definitions employed for level independence and hypo-additivity. However, the intensity judgements suggest deviations from symmetry and exhibited compromise, which violates two other principles. A comparison with previously published data shows that these violations probably occur for other mixture types, too. It is concluded that the Olsson interaction model cannot describe interactions in mixtures of dissimilar tasting components accurately.     

Influence of training and experience on the perception of multicomponent odor mixtures.

This study examined whether a previously established (D. G. Laing and G. W. Francis; see record 1990-11967-001) limited capacity to discriminate and identify the components of olfactory mixtures resulted from the participants' lack of familiarity with the task, training designed to optimize cognitive and perceptual performance, or professional experience in odor discrimination. The participants were a trained panel of 10 women (23–43 years old), and an expert panel of 8 male professional perfumers and flavorists (25–55 years old). The individual chemical stimuli were 7 common dissimilar odorants of equal moderate intensity. An air dilution olfactometer delivered a single odorant or a mixture containing up to 5 odorants. The results indicated that for both panels only 3 or 4 components of a complex mixture could be discriminated and identified and that this capacity could not be increased by training. Therefore, the limit may be imposed physiologically or by processing constraints. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selective loss of cholinergic neurons projecting to the olfactory system increases perceptual generalization between similar, but not dissimilar, odorants.

The neuromodulator acetylcholine is thought to modulate information processing in the olfactory system. The authors used 192 IgG-saporin, a lesioning agent selective for basal forebrain cholinergic neurons, to determine whether selective lesions of cholinergic neurons projecting to the olfactory bulb and cortex affect odor perception in rats. Lesioned and sham-operated rats were tested in an olfactory generalization paradigm with sets of chemically related odorants (n-aliphatic aldehydes, acids, and alcohols). Lesioned rats generalized more between chemically similar odorants but did not differ from controls in their response to chemically unrelated odorants or in acquisition of the conditioned odor. Results show that cholinergic inputs to the olfactory system influence perceptual qualities of odorants and confirm predictions made by computational models of this system. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Perceptual Integration of Auditory Stimulus Edges: An Illusory Short Tone in Stimulus Patterns Consisting of Two Partly Overlapping Glides.

Two partly overlapping frequency glides can be perceived as consisting of a long pitch trajectory accompanied by a short tone in the temporal middle. It was found that the appearance of this middle tone could not be related to peripheral processes concerned with spectral splatter or combination tones that could have emerged during the overlap of the glides. Furthermore, it was found that the middle tone was perceived even when components of the 2 glides were separated by more than an equivalent rectangular bandwidth at any time during the overlap. The appearance of the middle tone indicates that auditory events can result from the perceptual integration of component parts-that is, stimulus edges-of acoustically different sounds. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential conditioning to a compound stimulus and its components in the terrestrial mollusc Limax maximus..

The neuronal mechanism of associative learning and memory storage operating in the central nervous system of the terrestrial mollusc Limax maximus has been modeled as a computer simulation called LIMAX (A. Gelperin et al [1985]). One test of the LIMAX model is to determine whether Limax can learn to avoid a compound stimulus composed of the mixture of two innately attractive odors without simultaneously learning an aversion to the individual odors comprising the mixture. We found that Limax can learn a strong aversion to odor A?+?B while odor A and odor B remain strongly attractive when presented individually. This result led us to reexamine the sensory coding scheme used in the LIMAX model to represent stimulus mixtures, and it suggests neurophysiological experiments to examine the actual chemosensory coding scheme used by Limax. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Odor-intensity interaction in binary mixtures.

Four principles underlying odor summation in mixtures were examined on the bases of 10 Ss' magnitude estimates of 41 mixtures and their components (pyridine and DMDS). Thus, the overall intensity summation for mixtures are compared to self-addition reflected by the power function for single substances: Hypoaddition is a characteristic of both. Compromise is found for 25% of the mixtures, but it is not inherent in the power function. No level dependency is found for mixtures, although it is in accordance with the power function. Asymmetrical summation exists for mixtures and is inconsistent with the power function. Therefore, the idea of a congruence in odor-intensity summation processes is rejected. The results also constitute a successful cross-validation of the angle α (99° vs 102°) of the perceptual vector model reported by B. Berglund et al (1973). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of mental retardates and normals on visual figural aftereffects and reversible figures.

"A group of institutionalized high-grade mentally retarded adolescent boys was compared with a group of normal boys, equated for chronological age, on two perceptual tasks." The results indicated that there was a significant difference between the groups in how they perceived visual figure aftereffects and rigidity with regard to the perception of a reversible figure-ground stimulus. The results are discussed in terms of theories of perception and similar findings with schizophrenics. 19 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dilution: A theoretical burden or just load? A reply to Tsal and Benoni (2010).

Load theory of attention proposes that distractor processing is reduced in tasks with high perceptual load that exhaust attentional capacity within task-relevant processing. In contrast, tasks of low perceptual load leave spare capacity that spills over, resulting in the perception of task-irrelevant, potentially distracting stimuli. Tsal and Benoni (2010) find that distractor response competition effects can be reduced under conditions with a high search set size but low perceptual load (due to a singleton color target). They claim that the usual effect of search set size on distractor processing is not due to attentional load but instead attribute this to lower level visual interference. Here, we propose an account for their findings within load theory. We argue that in tasks of low perceptual load but high set size, an irrelevant distractor competes with the search nontargets for remaining capacity. Thus, distractor processing is reduced under conditions in which the search nontargets receive the spillover of capacity instead of the irrelevant distractor. We report a new experiment testing this prediction. Our new results demonstrate that, when peripheral distractor processing is reduced, it is the search nontargets nearest to the target that are perceived instead. Our findings provide new evidence for the spare capacity spillover hypothesis made by load theory and rule out accounts in terms of lower level visual interference (or mere “dilution”) for cases of reduced distractor processing under low load in displays of high set size. We also discuss additional evidence that discounts the viability of Tsal and Benoni's dilution account as an alternative to perceptual load. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual integration in heterogeneous taste percepts.

When mixtures of dissimilar tasting compounds are perceived, specific taste sensations are integrated into a percept. Four models are evaluated that were designed to predict the total taste intensity of a mixture percept from the total taste intensities of the unmixed components or from the specific taste intensities of the components within the mixture percept. The predictions of the 2 dominant component models are inferior to those made by the 2 other models. Predictions made by the vector summation model are accurate, but the model contains theoretical weaknesses that make it an invalid psychological integration model. The sum of sensations model predicts total intensity with an accuracy similar to the vector summation model, but it is more parsimonious. Furthermore, it can account for all of the empirical phenomena observed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age-related changes in selective attention and perceptual load during visual search.

Three visual search experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that age differences in selective attention vary as a function of perceptual load (E. A. Maylor & N. Lavie, 1998). Under resource-limited conditions (Experiments 1 and 2), the distraction from irrelevant display items generally decreased as display size (perceptual load) increased. This perceptual load effect was similar for younger and older adults, contrary to the findings of Maylor and Lavie. Distraction at low perceptual loads appeared to reflect both general and specific inhibitory mechanisms. Under more data-limited conditions (Experiment 3), an age-related decline in selective attention was evident, but the age difference was not attributable to capacity limitations as predicted by the perceptual load theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Taste response to mixtures: Analytic processing of quality.

The tastes of 100 mM sodium chloride (NaCl), 100 mM sucrose, and 1 mM quinine hydrochloride in mixtures were investigated in golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) with a conditioned taste aversion (CTA) paradigm. CTAs, established in golden hamsters by injection of lithium chloride, were quantified as percent suppression of control 1-hr stimulus intake. CTAs for 10 of 15 stimulus pairs with common components symmetrically cross-generalized, suggesting that component qualities were recognized in binary and ternary mixtures. However, CTAs to quinine were hardly learned and were weakly expressed when quinine was mixed with NaCl, and generalizations from multiple to single stimuli were stronger than vice versa (i.e., asymmetric). The behaviors reflect peripheral inhibition and/or central mixture suppression. Nonetheless, components retain their distinct qualities in mixtures, suggesting that taste processing is analytic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)