Odorant concentration dependence in electroolfactograms recorded from the human olfactory epithelium

Electroolfactograms (EOGs) are the summated generator potentials of olfactory receptor neurons measured directly from the olfactory epithelium. To validate the sensory origin of the human EOG, we set out to ask whether EOGs measured in humans were odorant concentration dependent. Each of 22 subjects (12 women, mean age = 23.3 yr) was tested with two odorants, either valeric acid and linalool (n = 12) or isovaleric acid and L-carvone (n = 10), each delivered at four concentrations diluted with warm (37° C) and humidified (80%) odorless air. In behavior, increased odorant concentration was associated with increased perceived intensity (all F > 5, all P < 0.001). In EOG, increased odorant concentration was associated with increased area under the EOG curve (all F > 8, all P < 0.001). These findings substantiate EOG as a tool for probing olfactory coding directly at the level of olfactory receptor neurons in humans.