Investigating left- and right-nostril olfactory abilities with respect to psychopathy

Mehmet K. Mahmut*, Richard J. Stevenson

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    11 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Introduction: Evidence for olfactory lateralization is mixed, although a left-sided benefit for odor identification seems likely. Whether lateralization of function is moderated by variables such as gender and handedness has been previously explored. However, there has been no test of whether psychopathy and empathy—personality characteristics which may themselves affect lateralization and which can affect olfactory function—moderate olfactory lateralization. 

    Methods: Eighty men and women engaged in mono-rhinal testing for odor threshold, identification, and discrimination ability, as well as completing standardized measures of psychopathy and empathy. 

    Results and Discussion: While there was a clear left-sided benefit for odor identification and discrimination, we found no evidence that psychopathy or empathy moderated these effects. When the current data were combined with that from previous studies, we found that psychopathy was correlated with poorer odor discrimination and identification, whereas empathy was correlated with enhanced discrimination and identification, pointing to processing commonalities between olfaction, psychopathy, and empathy.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)131-140
    Number of pages10
    JournalChemosensory Perception
    Volume9
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Sept 2016

    Keywords

    • Psychopathy
    • Olfaction
    • Left nostril
    • Right nostril
    • Hemisphere lateralization

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