Demographic and geographical determinants of human olfactory perception of 909 individuals inhabiting 16 regions

Drnovsek, E., Abraham, N. M., Abraham, J. N., Alizadeh, R., Aloulou, I., Chen, L., Berioso Enecilla, M. L., Fornazieri, M. A., Frasnelli, J., Fuselli, J. M., Gansatao, F., Guducu, C., Hernandez, A. K., Hofer, M. K., Husain, S., Kamel, R., Khouri, V. F., Loy, F., Mahmut, M. K., Marek, D., Masala, C., Dias Lopes, N. M., Michaluk, É., Miri, I., Mirsalehi, M., Miteva, P., Musa, A., Naija, H., Nakaachi, K., Pieniak, M., Pinto, J. M., Mazal, P. P., Radwan, A., Rafiei, F., Rawat, D., Reichert, A., Scussiatto, H. O., Sheta, H. A., Thodupunoori, S. M., Turner, B. J., Wu, H., Wylie, F., Yoshino, A., Zou, L., Zyzelewicz, B., Bratman, G. N., Majid, A., Hummel, T. et Oleszkiewicz, A. (2025). Demographic and geographical determinants of human olfactory perception of 909 individuals inhabiting 16 regions. iScience, 28 (10). Article 113455. ISSN 2589-0042 DOI 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113455

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Résumé

Abstract
The hedonic perception of odors is similar worldwide. However, our perception of smells is much more than just determining whether an odor is pleasant or not. Here, we expanded this assessment by recruiting 909 people from 16 regions of the world and measuring 12 perceptual dimensions (e.g., pleasantness, intensity, edibility), which were aggregated into an olfactory perceptual fingerprint. We used two fingerprints: descriptor-specific and odor-specific. Age, gender, and region explained 1.1%, 0.3%, and 9.6% of variance in the descriptor-specific fingerprints, respectively. Similarly, age, gender, and region explained 0.5%, 0.3%, and 8.2% of variance in the odor-specific fingerprints. Interestingly, odor intensity was more regionally dependent than pleasantness. Thus, olfactory perception across the globe may be better differentiated by odor intensity than pleasantness. Although there is some influence of individual and cultural backgrounds, human perception of odors appears to be quite similar worldwide, even when assessed using 12 perceptual dimensions.

Type de document:	Article
Mots-clés libres:	Biological sciences Clinical neuroscience Natural sciences Neuroscience Sensory neuroscience
Date de dépôt:	19 févr. 2026 19:26
Dernière modification:	19 févr. 2026 19:26
Version du document déposé:	Version officielle de l'éditeur
URI:	https://depot-e.uqtr.ca/id/eprint/12613

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