Abstract
Introduction
Experts acquire superior abilities in their specific domains by training. Sommelier students, who are future olfaction experts, could be an excellent model to study the effects of olfactory training.
Methods
We tested whether sommelier students display superior olfactory abilities early in their education: within the first 2 months of education, we examined the olfactory function, i.e., discrimination and identification of odors as well as olfactory threshold and olfactory memory, of n = 25 sommelier students and compared them to n = 29 control students. We also tested episodic and working memory.
Results
We found that sommelier students outperformed controls in free and cued identification, but we did not observe any difference in discrimination or threshold tasks. There was also no difference in memory tasks.
Conclusions
Early in their education, sommelier students appear to be better at identifying odors, but do not display other superior olfactory abilities.
Implications
Results suggest that sommeliers are better at identifying odors than the average person, either because they enter into training with superior identifications skills or are able to learn to identify odors at a very fast rate.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Altundag A, Cayonu M, Kayabasoglu G, Salihoglu M, Tekeli H, Saglam O, Hummel T (2015) Modified olfactory training in patients with postinfectious olfactory loss. Laryngoscope 125(8):1763–1766. https://doi.org/10.1002/lary.25245
Banks SJ, Sreenivasan KR, Weintraub DM, Baldock D, Noback M, Pierce ME, Frasnelli J, James J, Beall E, Zhuang X, Cordes D, Leger GC (2016) Structural and functional MRI differences in master sommeliers: a pilot study on expertise in the brain. Front Hum Neurosci 10:414. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00414
Bende M, Nordin S (1997) Perceptual learning in olfaction: professional wine tasters versus controls. Physiol Behav 62(5):1065–1070
Cohen JD, Forman SD, Braver TS, Casey BJ, Servan-Schreiber D, Noll DC (1994) Activation of the prefrontal cortex in a nonspatial working memory task with functional MRI. Hum Brain Mapp 1(4):293–304. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.460010407
Corkin S, Amaral DG, Gonzalez RG, Johnson KA, Hyman BT (1997) HM’s medial temporal lobe lesion: findings from magnetic resonance imaging. J Neurosci 17(10):3964–3979
Croy I, Olgun S, Mueller L, Schmidt A, Muench M, Hummel C, Gisselmann G, Hatt H, Hummel T (2015) Peripheral adaptive filtering in human olfaction? Three studies on prevalence and effects of olfactory training in specific anosmia in more than 1600 participants. Cortex 73:180–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2015.08.018
Dalton P, Doolittle N, Breslin PA (2002) Gender-specific induction of enhanced sensitivity to odors. Nat Neurosci 5(3):199–200. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn803
Damm M, Pikart LK, Reimann H, Burkert S, Goktas O, Haxel B, Frey S, Charalampakis I, Beule A, Renner B, Hummel T, Huttenbrink KB (2014) Olfactory training is helpful in postinfectious olfactory loss: a randomized, controlled, multicenter study. Laryngoscope 124(4):826–831. https://doi.org/10.1002/lary.24340
Delon-Martin C, Plailly J, Fonlupt P, Veyrac A, Royet JP (2013) Perfumers’ expertise induces structural reorganization in olfactory brain regions. Neuroimage 68:55–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.11.044
Dileo MD, Amedee RG (1994) Disorders of taste and smell. J La State Med Soc 146(10):433–437
Draganski B, Gaser C, Busch V, Schuierer G, Bogdahn U, May A (2004) Neuroplasticity: changes in grey matter induced by training. Nature 427(6972):311–312. https://doi.org/10.1038/427311a
Driemeyer J, Boyke J, Gaser C, Buchel C, May A (2008) Changes in gray matter induced by learning--revisited. PLoS One 3(7):e2669. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0002669
Eichenbaum H, Yonelinas AP, Ranganath C (2007) The medial temporal lobe and recognition memory. Annu Rev Neurosci 30:123–152. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.neuro.30.051606.094328
Fleiner F, Lau L, Goktas O (2012) Active olfactory training for the treatment of smelling disorders. Ear Nose Throat J 91(5):198–203 215
Frasnelli J, Lundstrom JN, Boyle JA, Djordjevic J, Zatorre RJ, Jones-Gotman M (2010) Neuroanatomical correlates of olfactory performance. Exp Brain Res 201(1):1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-009-1999-7
Geissler K, Reimann H, Gudziol H, Bitter T, Guntinas-Lichius O (2014) Olfactory training for patients with olfactory loss after upper respiratory tract infections. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 271(6):1557–1562. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-013-2747-y
Haehner A, Tosch C, Wolz M, Klingelhoefer L, Fauser M, Storch A, Reichmann H, Hummel T (2013) Olfactory training in patients with Parkinson’s disease. PLoS One 8(4):e61680. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0061680
Hedner M, Larsson M, Arnold N, Zucco GM, Hummel T (2010) Cognitive factors in odor detection, odor discrimination, and odor identification tasks. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 32(10):1062–1067. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803391003683070
Hummel T, Sekinger B, Wolf SR, Pauli E, Kobal G (1997) Sniffin’ sticks’: olfactory performance assessed by the combined testing of odor identification, odor discrimination and olfactory threshold. Chem Senses 22(1):39–52
Hummel T, Kobal G, Gudziol H, Mackay-Sim A (2007) Normative data for the “Sniffin’ sticks” including tests of odor identification, odor discrimination, and olfactory thresholds: an upgrade based on a group of more than 3,000 subjects. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 264(3):237–243. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-006-0173-0
Hummel T, Rissom K, Reden J, Hahner A, Weidenbecher M, Huttenbrink KB (2009) Effects of olfactory training in patients with olfactory loss. Laryngoscope 119(3):496–499. https://doi.org/10.1002/lary.20101
Kollndorfer K, Kowalczyk K, Hoche E, Mueller CA, Pollak M, Trattnig S, Schopf V (2014) Recovery of olfactory function induces neuroplasticity effects in patients with smell loss. Neural Plast 2014:140419–140417. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/140419
Kollndorfer K, Fischmeister FP, Kowalczyk K, Hoche E, Mueller CA, Trattnig S, Schopf V (2015) Olfactory training induces changes in regional functional connectivity in patients with long-term smell loss. Neuroimage Clin 9:401–410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2015.09.004
Konstantinidis I, Tsakiropoulou E, Bekiaridou P, Kazantzidou C, Constantinidis J (2013) Use of olfactory training in post-traumatic and postinfectious olfactory dysfunction. Laryngoscope 123(12):E85–E90. https://doi.org/10.1002/lary.24390
Livermore A, Hummel T (2004) The influence of training on chemosensory event-related potentials and interactions between the olfactory and trigeminal systems. Chem Senses 29(1):41–51
MacMillan N, Creelman C (2005) Detection theory: a user’s guide. Taylor & Francis
Majid A, Speed L, Croijmans I, Arshamian A (2017) What makes a better smeller? Perception 46(3–4):406–430. https://doi.org/10.1177/0301006616688224
Moller R, Pause BM, Ferstl R (1999) Inducibility of olfactory sensitivity by odor exposure of persons with specific anosmia. Z Exp Psychol 46(1):53–59
Negoias S, Friedrich H, Caversaccio MD, Landis BN (2016) Rapidly fluctuating anosmia: a clinical sign for unilateral smell impairment. Laryngoscope 126(2):E57–E59. https://doi.org/10.1002/lary.25476
Parr WV, Heatherbell D, White KG (2002) Demystifying wine expertise: olfactory threshold, perceptual skill and semantic memory in expert and novice wine judges. Chem Senses 27(8):747–755
Parr WV, Mouret M, Blackmore S, Pelquest-Hunt T, Urdapilleta I (2011) Representation of complexity in wine: influence of expertise. Food Qual Prefer 22(7):647–660. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2011.04.005
Pazart L, Comte A, Magnin E, Millot JL, Moulin T (2014) An fMRI study on the influence of sommeliers’ expertise on the integration of flavor. Front Behav Neurosci 8:358. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00358
Pekala K, Chandra RK, Turner JH (2016) Efficacy of olfactory training in patients with olfactory loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol 6(3):299–307. https://doi.org/10.1002/alr.21669
Plailly J, Delon-Martin C, Royet JP (2012) Experience induces functional reorganization in brain regions involved in odor imagery in perfumers. Hum Brain Mapp 33(1):224–234. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.21207
Poupon D, Hummel T, Haehner A, Welge-Luessen A, Frasnelli J (2017) Nostril differences in the olfactory performance in health and disease. Chem Senses 42(8):625–634. https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjx041
Rabin MD, Cain WS (1986) Determinants of measured olfactory sensitivity. Percept Psychophys 39(4):281–286
Rey A (1958) L’examen clinique en psychologie. Press Universitaire de France, Paris
Royet JP, Plailly J, Saive AL, Veyrac A, Delon-Martin C (2013) The impact of expertise in olfaction. Front Psychol 4:928. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00928
Sreenivasan K, Zhuang X, Banks SJ, Mishra V, Yang Z, Deshpande G, Cordes D (2017) Olfactory network differences in master sommeliers: connectivity analysis using granger causality and graph theoretical approach. Brain Connect 7(2):123–136. https://doi.org/10.1089/brain.2016.0458
Wang L, Chen L, Jacob T (2004) Evidence for peripheral plasticity in human odour response. J Physiol 554(Pt 1):236–244. https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.2003.054726
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank M. Daniel Vintrou for kindly enabling us to contact sommelier students from the Centre de Formation Professionnelle Bel-Avenir in Trois-Rivieres. This study was funded by the UQTR Research Chair in Chemosensory Neuroanatomy, the Fonds de Recherche du Québec-Santé and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (JF).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières, Canada.
Informed Consent
All participants gave informed written consent to participate.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Poupon, D., Fernandez, P. & Frasnelli, J. Sommelier Students Display Superior Abilities to Identify but Not to Detect or Discriminate Odors Early in their Training. Chem. Percept. 12, 106–114 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-019-09256-w
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-019-09256-w