Anatomical and Functional Plasticity in the Olfactory System

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: Completed

Sex: Not specified

Target Recruitment: 30

Inclusion Criteria

For patients, in order to be eligible to participate in this study, a subject must meet all of the following criteria:
- Have congenital anosmia
- Labelled as anosmic according to our standardized clinical olfactory test
- Age between 18-65 years
- Have a normal eyesight or an eye deviation that can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses.
- Willing to comply with the study procedures
- Willing to be informed about incidental findings of pathology
- Having given written informed consent;For age- and sex- matched healthy controls, in order to be eligible to participate in this study, a subject must meet all of the following criteria:
- Self-reported healthy
- No know smell disorder
- Labelled as having a normal sense of smell according to our standardized clinical test
- Age between 18-65 years
- Have a normal eyesight or an eye deviation that can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses.
- Willing to comply with the study procedures
- Willing to be informed about incidental findings of pathology
- Having given written informed consent
- Matched on sex to patient
- Matched on age (within 3 years) to patient

Exclusion Criteria

A potential subject who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study:
- Being deaf (or having any other hearing problems) or blind
- Being an employee of the division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University
- Performing an internship or thesis at the chair group Sensory Science and Eating Behaviour of the division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University
- Having a contra-indication to MRI scanning (including, but not limited to):
* Pacemakers and defibrillators
* Intraorbital or intraocular metallic fragments
* Ferromagnetic implants
* Presence of non-removable piercings

Study & Design

Study Type: Observational non invasive

Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
<p>Main parameters within this study are:<br /><br>- Morphological (anatomical) differences in brain areas between healthy and<br /><br>anosmic individuals.<br /><br>- Differences in functional connectivity during resting-state between healthy<br /><br>and anosmic individuals.<br /><br>- Differences in functional connectivity during uni- versus multi-sensory<br /><br>stimulation within healthy and anosmic individuals.<br /><br>- Differences in functional connectivity during uni- and multi-sensory<br /><br>stimulation between healthy and anosmic individuals.</p><br>

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
<p>A secondary study parameter are differences between groups in behavioral<br /><br>outcomes of the multisensory integration task. This will be calculated by means<br /><br>of Hierarchical Drift Diffusion Model (HDDM), to combine speed versus accuracy<br /><br>in responses.</p><br>