Volume 10, Issue 6 pp. 1045-1057
REVIEW ARTICLE

Perception of odors and tastes in autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review of assessments

Mohamed A. Boudjarane

Corresponding Author

Mohamed A. Boudjarane

Laboratory of Neurosciences of Brest (EA4685), University of Western Brittany, Brest, France

Address for correspondence and reprints: Mohamed Boudjarane, Laboratory of Neurosciences of Brest, Faculty of Medicine, 22 avenue Camille Desmoulins, 29200 Brest, France. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author
Marine Grandgeorge

Marine Grandgeorge

Laboratory of Neurosciences of Brest (EA4685), University of Western Brittany, Brest, France

UMR-CNRS 6552, Animal and Human Ethology University of Rennes 1-CNRS, Rennes Cedex, France

Search for more papers by this author
Rémi Marianowski

Rémi Marianowski

Laboratory of Neurosciences of Brest (EA4685), University of Western Brittany, Brest, France

Department of ENT, University Hospital of Brest, Brest Cedex, France

Search for more papers by this author
Laurent Misery

Laurent Misery

Laboratory of Neurosciences of Brest (EA4685), University of Western Brittany, Brest, France

Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Brest, Brest Cedex, France

Search for more papers by this author
Éric Lemonnier

Éric Lemonnier

Laboratory of Neurosciences of Brest (EA4685), University of Western Brittany, Brest, France

University Hospital of Limoges, Expert Center of Autism Limousin, Limoges Cedex, France (É.L.)

Search for more papers by this author
First published: 30 March 2017
Citations: 49

Abstract

Olfaction and gustation are major sensory functions implied in processing environmental stimuli. Some evidences suggest that loss of olfactory function is an early biomarker for neurodegenerative disorders and atypical processing of odor and taste stimuli is present in several neurodevelopmental disorders, notably in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

In this paper, we conducted a systematic review investigating the assessments of olfaction and gustation with psychophysics methods in individuals with ASD. Pubmed, PMC and Sciencedirect were scrutinized for relevant literature published from 1970 to 2015. In this review, fourteen papers met our inclusion criteria. They were analyzed critically in order to evaluate the occurrence of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction in ASD, as well as to report the methods used to assess olfaction and gustation in such conditions.

Regarding to these two senses, the overall number of studies is low. Most of studies show significant difference regarding to odor or taste identification but not for detection threshold. Overall, odor rating through pleasantness, intensity and familiarity do not differ significantly between control and individuals with ASD.

The current evidences can suggest the presence of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction in ASD. Therefore, our analysis show a heterogeneity of findings. This is due to several methodological limitations such as the tools used or population studied. Understanding these disorders could help to shed light on other atypical behavior in this population such as feeding or social behavior. Autism Res 2017, 0: 000–000. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Autism Res 2017, 10: 1045–1057. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.