Electrophysiological Study of Odor Intensity Representation in the Human Brain Using Intracranial Recordings

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are exploring how the human brain, specifically the piriform cortex, represents the intensity of odors independently from their concentration or identity. The study aims to fill a critical gap in understanding the connection between neural activity and how people perceive odor intensity. This research combines direct brain recordings with psychophysical ratings to better understand the neural coding of smell in people undergoing brain surgery. Participants will be exposed to controlled odors while their brain responses are recorded. The study uses two approaches: one matches perceived odor intensities across different concentrations, and another creates varying perceived intensities using adaptation with constant odors. These methods allow researchers to isolate how the brain encodes odor intensity, separate from odor identity or concentration. During the study, participants will provide ratings of odor intensity while their brain activity is monitored using intracranial recordings during their surgery. The primary outcome measured is the perceived odor intensity 15 minutes after odor presentation. The collaboration with experts in psychophysics ensures accurate collection of perception data to link with neural signals. Participants are aged 12 to 65 and will be closely observed throughout the sessions.

Electrophysiological Representations of Odor in the Human Brain Study 1