Just noticeable differences in component concentrations modify the odor quality of a blending mixture - INRAE - Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement
Article Dans Une Revue Chemical Senses Année : 2008

Just noticeable differences in component concentrations modify the odor quality of a blending mixture

Résumé

The odors we perceive are mainly the result of mixtures of odorants that, however, are commonly perceived as single undivided entities; nevertheless, the processes involved remain poorly explored. It has been recently reported that perceptual blending based on configural olfactory processing can cause odorant mixtures to give rise to an emergent odor not present in the components. The present study examined whether specific component proportions are required to elicit an emergent odor. Starting from the composition of a ternary target mixture in which an emergent pineapple odor was perceived, 4 concentration levels of each component were chosen to elicit just noticeable differences (JNDs). Each combination of levels was used to design sample mixtures. Fifteen subjects evaluated the intensity, typicality, and pleasantness of each sample mixture against the target mixture in a paired-comparison protocol. Statistical modeling showed that a variation of less than 1 JND in one of the components was sufficient to induce a significant decrease in pineapple odor typicality in the ternary mixture. This finding confirms previous findings on perceptual blending in simple odorant mixtures and underscores the human ability to discriminate between odor percepts induced by mixtures including very similar odorant proportions.

Domaines

Autre

Dates et versions

hal-02667951 , version 1 (31-05-2020)

Identifiants

Citer

Elodie Le Berre, Noëlle Béno, Akiko Ishii, Claire Chabanet, Patrick Etievant, et al.. Just noticeable differences in component concentrations modify the odor quality of a blending mixture. Chemical Senses, 2008, 33 (4), pp.389-395. ⟨10.1093/chemse/bjn006⟩. ⟨hal-02667951⟩
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