Investigating Odor Detect Distances with Peanut Butter

 

Karen A. McMahon

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2018, Volume 39

Abstract

In 2013, researchers proposed a simple odor detection test using peanut butter for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. It was reasoned that there would be significant decrease in odor detection in the left nostril compared to the right because in patients with Alzheimer’s disease portions of the olfactory cortex are the first areas to exhibit pathology and the left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex exhibits greater degeneration than the right (Stamps et al., 2013). This study was the inspiration for an olfaction exercise for the Human Anatomy Laboratory (Biol 2151) in the fall 2016 semester at the University of Tulsa. Students are introduced to hypothesis testing, experimental design, and discussions of neurological anatomy and pathology.

Keywords:  olfaction, odor detection distances, Alzheimer’s Disease

University of Wisconsin, Madison (2017)