Characterization of Olfactory Perception in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

The core symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) include flash backs, intrusive pictures and thoughts related to the traumatic event, hyperalertness, avoidance of traumatic relevant environmental triggers and emotional dysregulation. Some studies suggest that PTSD is also associated with impaired olfactory perception, which seems quite intuitive regarding the close anatomical-functional connections between olfactory and emotional circuits. Furthermore, some studies reported that olfactory stimuli can trigger flashbacks in subjects with PTSD. However, up to know available data is scarce and heterogeneous concerning that topic. The goal of the study is to determine the olfactory phenotype of subjects with PTSD. More precisely, this project aims at filling the above mentioned gap by systematically assessing the olfactory perception of subjects with PTSD along five dimensions: olfactory identity, hedonic value, familiarity, desirability and edibility. As a secondary goal, the relative weight of olfaction compared to the other senses in the relived memories of subjects with PTSD will be assessed.

The investigators here hypothesize a global impairment in olfactory processing (intensity, hedonicity, familiarity and edibility judgments) in PTSD subjects, compared with healthy subjects.