Potential mechanisms of retronasal odor referral to the mouth
Abstract
The current study took a first step toward elucidating the sensory input that drives retronasal odor referral to the mouth. In 2 experiments, subjects performed odor localization tasks under various oral-nasal stimulation conditions that allowed us to assess the effects of direction of airflow, taste, and tactile stimulation on retronasal odor referral. Subjects reported the locations of perceived odors when food odorants were inhaled through the mouth alone or in the presence of water or various tastants in the mouth. The results indicated that when perceived alone, vanilla and soy sauce odor were localized 54.7%: 26.4%: 18.9% and 60.0%: 21.7%: 18.3% in the nose, oral cavity, and on the tongue, respectively. The localization of odors alone was not significantly different from when water was presented simultaneously in the mouth, indicating that tactile stimulation itself is not sufficient to enhance odor referral. However, the presence of sucrose, but not other tastes, significantly increased localization of vanilla to the tongue. Likewise, only NaCl significantly augmented referral of soy sauce odor to the tongue. These data indicate that referral of retronasal odors to the mouth can occur in the absence of a either taste or touch but that referral to the tongue depends strongly on the presence of a congruent taste.
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Oral referral is related to the degree of congruency between oral and taste stimuli.
“the occurrence of oral referral also seems to be related to the degree of congruency between the oral and taste stimuli.”
From The Role of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Sensory Factors in Sweetness Perception of Food and Beverages: A Review (2019) · cites this paper as [190]
Participants rate odours as coming from the mouth significantly more often when the odour-taste combination is congruent than when the solution is neutral or the combination is incongruent.
“they rated the odours as coming from the mouth significantly more often when the odour-taste combination was congruent (vanilla-sweet, soy sauce-salty) than when the solution was neutral or when the combination was incongruent.”
From The Role of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Sensory Factors in Sweetness Perception of Food and Beverages: A Review (2019) · cites this paper as [190]
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“Lim and Johnson [189] demonstrated that, when participants were introduced to a simultaneous retronasal odour (soy sauce, vanilla) and a taste solution (sweet, salty, water), they rated the odours as coming from the mouth significantly more often when the odour– taste combination was congruent (vanilla–sweet, soy sauc…”
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- Authors
- Lim, J., & Johnson, M. B.
- Affiliations
- Oregon State University (US)
- ORCID
- Lim, J.
- Venue
- Chemical Senses
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2010-11-23
- Volume
- 36
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 283-289
- ISSN
- 0379-864X (ISSN-L)
- 1464-3553
- OpenAlex
- W2153144846
- Cited by
- 97
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 3.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Chemical Senses (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Multisensory perception and integration
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Tactile and Sensory Interactions
- Keywords
- odor localization, taste-odor interaction, tactile stimulation, airflow direction, sucrose, sodium chloride, vanilla, soy sauce
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Benzaldehydes, Female, Humans, Male, Mouth, Nose, Odorants, Smell, Taste, Tongue, Soy Foods, Olfactory Perception
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