Odor Perception

Currently, in both scientific and philosophical disciplines, many consider the visual and auditory senses as the "higher senses," viewing them as objective faculties, particularly in humans. Conversely, the tactile, gustatory, and olfactory senses are regarded as the "lower senses," primarily subjective. The approach to such differentiation involves comparing and analyzing them based on an insufficient conceptual understanding of objective knowledge. We argue against it, finding it unnatural, biased, and non-synthetic. Towards a change in conception, a more effective strategy could be to consider overall cognition as the interplay between the senses and cognitive processes. When viewed through this lens, three essential elements of this interplay emerge, which we identify as its salient features as follows: 1. Functional aspect-the senses inform of the pattern-based macro world rather than its micro constituents. 2. Objecthood aspectall five senses put the organism in direct touch with the objective world without exception. We have comprehensively redefined objecthood to encompass both the object and stuff (its material composition, such as woody, watery, metallic, etc.). 3. Abstract or representational aspectinformation through the senses is further manipulated by high-level cognitive processing. We term it the "cognitive sense." In this article, we elaborate on these features and propose a normative theory. We believe this can serve as a framework for both scientific and philosophical exploration of the theory of the senses, informed by a comprehensive literature review conducted across both disciplines. Our study examines the roles of the chemosenses (smell, taste, etc.) and the tactile sense, which we term the vital senses, in grounding the organism in its biological basis of life. In contrast, the highly acclaimed distal senses of vision and audition can mislead the organism about reality and objecthood because of their connection to abstract cognition, thereby challenging the contemporary perspective.

Currently, in both scientific and philosophical disciplines, many consider the visual and auditory senses as the "higher senses," viewing them as objective faculties, particularly in humans. Conversely, the tactile, gustatory, and olfactory senses are regarded as the "lower senses," primarily subjective. The approach to such differentiation involves comparing and analyzing them based on an insufficient conceptual understanding of objective knowledge. We argue against it, finding it unnatural, biased, and non-synthetic. Towards a change in conception, a more effective strategy could be to consider overall cognition as the interplay between the senses and cognitive processes. When viewed through this lens, three essential elements of this interplay emerge, which we identify as its salient features as follows: 1. Functional aspect-the senses inform of the pattern-based macro world rather than its micro constituents. 2. Objecthood aspectall five senses put the organism in direct touch with the objective world without exception. We have comprehensively redefined objecthood to encompass both the object and stuff (its material composition, such as woody, watery, metallic, etc.). 3. Abstract or representational aspectinformation through the senses is further manipulated by high-level cognitive processing. We term it the "cognitive sense." In this article, we elaborate on these features and propose a normative theory. We believe this can serve as a framework for both scientific and philosophical exploration of the theory of the senses, informed by a comprehensive literature review conducted across both disciplines. Our study examines the roles of the chemosenses (smell, taste, etc.) and the tactile sense, which we term the vital senses, in grounding the organism in its biological basis of life. In contrast, the highly acclaimed distal senses of vision and audition can mislead the organism about reality and objecthood because of their connection to abstract cognition, thereby challenging the contemporary perspective.

Blind individuals display superior sensory abilities in other modalities, yet results remain contradictory regarding their performance on olfactory tasks. Using complex ecological olfactory tasks, we evaluated the impact of blindness on olfactory performance. We tested 12 early-blind individuals (M = 49, SD = 13.09) and 12 sighted controls (M = 49, SD = 14.31) who were all blindfolded. Based solely on the wine odors, participants evaluated 24 pairs of wine and determined if both samples belonged to the same category (red wine, white wine, or rosé wine) or not (odor categorization), and if so, whether they were identical or not (odor differentiation). Then,

Blind individuals display superior sensory abilities in other modalities, yet results remain contradictory regarding their performance on olfactory tasks. Using complex ecological olfactory tasks, we evaluated the impact of blindness on olfactory performance. We tested 12 early-blind individuals (M = 49, SD = 13.09) and 12 sighted controls (M = 49, SD = 14.31) who were all blindfolded. Based solely on the wine odors, participants evaluated 24 pairs of wine and determined if both samples belonged to the same category (red wine, white wine, or rosé wine) or not (odor categorization), and if so, whether they were identical or not (odor differentiation). Then, they had to classify 15 different wines (5 red, 5 white and 5 rosé) into red, white, and rosé wines (odor classification). Blind individuals (d': M = 1.3, SD = 1.2) presented lower scores compared to sighted controls (M = 2.2 SD = 0. 8; p < .05) in the odor categorization task, but no group difference was observed for the other tasks. For all participants, red wine odors were the easiest to classify (1.8 ± 1.0), followed by white wine odors (0.5 ± 0.6) and finally rosé wine odors (blind and sighted; F[2; 44] = 11.9, p < .001

The coding of olfactory stimuli across a wide range of organisms may rely on fundamentally similar mechanisms in which a complement of specific odorant receptors on olfactory sensory neurons respond differentially to airborne chemicals to initiate the process by which specific odors are perceived. The question that we address in this review is the role of specific neurons in mediating this sensory system-an identity code-relative to the role that temporally specific responses across many neurons play in producing an olfactory perception-a temporal code. While information coded in specific neurons may be converted into a temporal code, it is also possible that temporal codes exist in the absence of response specificity for any particular neuron or subset of neurons. We review the data supporting these ideas, and we discuss the research perspectives that could help to reveal the mechanisms by which odorants become perceptions.

I offer a counterpoint to the prevailing risk literature that focuses not on (mis)perceptions of danger but on the production and circulation of different forms of evidence and the environmental claims they promote. Rather than reproduce the epistemic dichotomies associated with risk discourse, I discuss attempts by waste-industry technicians, government inspectors, lawyers, area residents, and activists to generate persuasive accounts of a large, U.S. landfill and its porous boundaries. I argue that the differential influence of their various claims is best understood by examining what it means to know and care for a place.

Düşük enerjiyle verimli bilgi edinme işlemi bilginin bilinç gerektirmeyen kanallardan elde edilmesine işaret etmektedir. Bilinç bilgi işlemede hem verimlilik elde etme hem de problem çözme becerisi için her zaman üstün bir araç değildir. Verimli bilgi edinme işlemi bilginin bilinç gerektirmeden hızla anlam bulmasını kolaylaştırmaktadır. Özellikle hayatta kalmaya yardımcı olacak kritik bilgileri seçerek belleğe daha güçlü şekilde kaydetmekte ve organizma hayati önem taşıyan bilgiye hızla cevap verebilmektedir. Diğer duyularla karşılaştırıldığında koku sistemi üst bilişle doğrudan bağlantıları sayesinde çevre hakkında bilgi toplamak için daha ekonomik bir olanak sunmaktadır. Bu bağlamda koku alma sürecine aracılık eden nöral yollar ve mekanizmalar diğer duyu sistemlerinin anatomik organizasyonundan oldukça farklılık göstermektedir. Yapılan araştırmalar koku, duygu ve hafıza arasındaki bağlantıyı ortaya koyan davranışsal bulgular ile koku duyusunu diğer duyulardan ayrıştıran sinirsel b...

I offer a counterpoint to the prevailing risk literature that focuses not on (mis)perceptions of danger but on the production and circulation of different forms of evidence and the environmental claims they promote. Rather than reproduce the epistemic dichotomies associated with risk discourse, I discuss attempts by waste-industry technicians, government inspectors, lawyers, area residents, and activists to generate persuasive accounts of a large, U.S. landfill and its porous boundaries. I argue that the differential influence of their various claims is best understood by examining what it means to know and care for a place.

Ability to reach efficient information with low energy means information could be obtained without consciousness. Organisms which have consciousness do not always over come the problems while organisms do not have consciousness can over come the problems. Hence consciousness is not always a superior tool for both productivity and problem solving skills. If use of the brain is reduced as much as possible information can be more efficient to survive. Especially by selecting critical information that will help survive, is record more strongly in memory and the organism can respond quickly to the vital informations. The olfactory system offers a more economical opportunity to gather information about the environment compared to other senses. In this context, the neural pathways and mechanisms of olfactory process are quite different from the other sensory systems. Researches reveals behavioral findings of the link between smell, emotion, and memory are match up with nöroimaging findings. This study covers how the anatomical structure of sense of smell differs from other senses and affects on human behavior and explaining functions of odor sense accordingly the evolutionary perspective.

Due to the fact that only a human can judge the objectionability of an odor, organoleptic examination (sniffing and scoring oral odor) was used as a reference standard of oral halitosis measurement. However, there are several problems that make the diagnostic value of organoleptic examination questionable.
      There is no universally accepted, precise definition, standardization and calibration in organoleptic examination, including scoring, scaling or safety protocols. Standardization, calibration, reproducibility, reliability, objectivity, specificity, accuracy, sensitivity of organoleptic measurement are doubtful. It is extremely subjective, emotional, instinctive, intuitive, speculative, hedonic or highly flexible. Also it is found repulsive, primitive and moreover even shame is experienced by patients or examiners.
      Nonstandard protocols on premeasurement, scoring, scaling, and training processes may cause misinterpretation or misdiagnose since it depends on examiner's emotional mood, gender, ethnicity, odor detection spectrum, threshold, and even climate conditions. It is not gold standard, even not standard.
        It is difficult to recognize, identify or focus on a particular gas among thousands in the breath. Organoleptic examination may not be necessary due to not being a good diagnostic tool for halitosis.
        There may be infection risk for sniffer or patient. Moreover, female examiners may have disadvantages in olfactory accuracy during organoleptic examination, since menstruation, pregnancy, menopause may alter their odor sensation.
        Also, the age, limits reliability of examiners due to age-related smell loss. According to the psychophysics laws, the human nose can recognize odors logarithmically. There is no reason to think that scoring the oral malodor by sniffing the mouth of the patients obtains sufficient evidence for the diagnosis of halitosis.
        Portable multi-gas detectors, electronic noses can be suggested as alternative instead of sniffing patients.
      This is the first paper in the literature to criticize organoleptic examination, revalues health risks, inconsistencies in assesment protocols.

I offer a counterpoint to the prevailing risk literature that focuses not on (mis)perceptions of danger but on the production and circulation of different forms of evidence and the environmental claims they promote. Rather than reproduce the epistemic dichotomies associated with risk discourse, I discuss attempts by waste-industry technicians, government inspectors, lawyers, area residents, and activists to generate persuasive accounts of a large, U.S. landfill and its porous boundaries. I argue that the differential influence of their various claims is best understood by examining what it means to know and care for a place.

Los trabajos de Berlin y Kay sobre la terminología del color generaron un gran número de trabajos de investigación sobre este campo y llegaron a resultados bastante fructuosos en el dominio de los universales léxicos y de la categorización.1 A partir de estos estudios se han planteado una serie de hipótesis relativas a los términos de color, y que según MacLaury constan de ocho postulados básicos:

Resumen
Este artículo es el resultado del análisis de relaciones de significados entre los distintos vocablos que nombran y clasifican a los olores en la lengua totonaca de Huehuetla, Puebla; a fin de determinar si existe o no un ítem léxico a que englobe a los distintos olores en dicha lengua de la misma manera que lo hace el término 'olores' en español y otras lenguas europeas hegemónicas. Palabras clave: percepción, clasificación de olores, categorización, hiponimia, hiperónimo, lengua totonaca.

Abstract: This article is the result of the analysis of meaning relationships between the different words that name and classify odors in the Totonac language of Huehuetla, Puebla, in order to determine whether or not a lexical item exists in such Language that encompasses the different odors in the same way as the term 'smells' does in Spanish and other European hegemonic languages.