Responses of Chemosensory Perception to Stimulation of the Human Brain
Yanyan Li PhD
CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorZheng Tan PhD
CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorJing Wang MBBS
Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorYufei Cai BS
CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorMengyang Wang MD
Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorWen Zhou PhD
CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Liang Wang PhD
CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Address correspondence to Liang Wang, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China. E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorYanyan Li PhD
CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorZheng Tan PhD
CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorJing Wang MBBS
Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorYufei Cai BS
CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorMengyang Wang MD
Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorWen Zhou PhD
CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Liang Wang PhD
CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Address correspondence to Liang Wang, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China. E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Objective
Significant advances have been made in our understanding of the neural substrates of human chemosensory processing, involving the piriform cortex, insula, and orbitofrontal cortex. However, the important and challenging issues are to localize the brain regions with high anatomic precision that can causally produce chemosensory perception and further delineate the topography of different classifications of chemosensory perception.
Methods
We quantitatively measured subjective responses of chemosensory perception to intracranial electrical stimulation over the brain in neurosurgical patients (n = 302) with medically refractory epilepsy.
Results
The chemosensory perceptions including olfaction, gustation, and chemesthesis were elicited in 21 of 302 patients (7%). Chemosensory responses were evoked in 53 (0.2%) of 21,661 stimulated sites. The highest response rate (1.8%) was in the insula (37/2,051 stimulated sites from 15/163 patients). The chemosensory perception emerged predominantly during stimulation of the insula along the central sulcus axis. Notably, there existed a distinct pattern that the anteroventral insula predominately represented orthonasal olfaction, whereas different chemosensory modalities converged in the mid-dorsal insula.
Interpretation
This study provided a detailed characterization of chemosensory perception across the brain, especially in the insula. These results suggest that the cortex along the banks of the central sulcus of the insula may play a role in producing the supramodal sensation of flavor. It also indicates that dysfunction of the central insula should be considered during the evaluation of chemosensory-related epileptic seizures. ANN NEUROL 2023;93:175–183
Potential Conflicts of Interest
Nothing to report.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| ana26532-sup-0001-VideoS1.movQuickTime video, 28.7 MB | Supplementary VIDEO 1. Demonstration of pure gustation. Patient 003 reported “bitter taste in the mouth” elicited by electrical stimulation. |
| ana26532-sup-0002-VideoS2.movQuickTime video, 50.3 MB | Supplementary VIDEO 2. Demonstration of pure olfaction. Patient 001 reported “the smell of garlic flavor (pleasant)” elicited by electrical stimulation. |
| ana26532-sup-0003-VideoS3.movQuickTime video, 22.8 MB | Supplementary VIDEO 3. Demonstration of mixed olfaction and chemesthesis. Patient 016 reported a “fishlike smell” elicited by electrical stimulation. |
| ana26532-sup-0004-TableS1.docxWord 2007 document , 26 KB | Supplementary TABLE 1. Clinical information about the patients. |
| ana26532-sup-0005-TableS2.docxWord 2007 document , 22.8 KB | Supplementary TABLE 2. Explicitly elicited chemosensory perception and different classifications. |
| ana26532-sup-0006-TableS3.docxWord 2007 document , 24 KB | Supplementary TABLE 3. The electrical stimulations over different brain regions in all patients (n = 194). |
| ana26532-sup-0007-DataS1.xlsxExcel 2007 spreadsheet , 12.3 KB | Supplementary DATA S1 |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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