Gemma Calvert

Color of Scents: Chromatic Stimuli Modulate Odor Responses in the Human Brain

Publisher: American Physiological Society

Date: 06-2005

DOI: 10.1152/JN.00555.2004

Abstract: Color has a profound effect on the perception of odors. For ex le, strawberry-flavored drinks smell more pleasant when colored red than green and descriptions of the “nose” of a wine are dramatically influenced by its color. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we demonstrate a neurophysiological correlate of these cross-modal visual influences on olfactory perception. Subjects were scanned while exposed either to odors or colors in isolation or to color-odor combinations that were rated on the basis of how well they were perceived to match. Activity in caudal regions of the orbitofrontal cortex and in the insular cortex increased progressively with the perceived congruency of the odor-color pairs. These findings demonstrate the neuronal correlates of olfactory response modulation by color cues in brain areas previously identified as encoding the hedonic value of smells.

University Of Oxford

Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

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The London School Of Economics And Political Science

Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

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Nanyang Business School

Location: Singapore

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