A comparison of methodologies in the measurement of olfactory sensitivity under conditions of non-adaptation and co-adaptation.

TL;DRAbstract

An investigation into the relative efficiency of Threshold and Signal Detectability measures of olfactory Sensitivity was undertaken using isopropyl alcohol as stimulus. Intensive testing of seven subjects under adaptive and non-adaptive conditions revealed that the Signal Detectability paradigm, although theoretically desirable because of its allowance for the subject's response bias, was difficult to implement because of the prolonged testing required. A variance of the rating technique involving multiple stimulus concentration presentations in a three-hour testing session was attempted. Results in the nonadapting environment indicated that the method was more effective than single-stimulus concentration presentations. However reliable results under adapting conditions were obtained In the case of one subject only. As a comparison, the constant stimulus method was used to obtain threshold using a procedure similar to Cheesman's and Mayne's group threshold determinations, but modified

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