Perceptual blending in odor mixtures depends on the nature of odorants and human olfactory expertise.

International audience; Our olfactory system is confronted with complex mixtures of odorants, often recognized as single entities due to odor blending (e.g., coffee). In contrast, we are also able to discriminate odors from complex mixtures (e.g., off-odors). Therefore, the olfactory system is able to engage either configural or elemental processes when confronted with mixtures. However, the rules that govern the involvement of these processes during odor perception remain poorly understood. In our first experiment, we examined whether simple odorant mixtures (binary/ternary) could elicit configural perception. Twenty untrained subjects were asked to evaluate the odor typicality of mixtures…

Evidence for odor blending in odorant mixtures