Olfactory System and Brain Diseases: Investigating the Related Structures, Neurocircuits, and Functional Mechanisms

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Systems Neuroscience".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 658

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Biology Department, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, VA 23005, USA
Interests: olfactory system; visual system; neural plasticity; behavior; mood disorders

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The sense of smell is an ancient sensory system that is part of the brain’s limbic network controlling emotions and drives. Unsurprisingly, olfaction has been implicated in several neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. For example, a number of disorders including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and multiple sclerosis are all accompanied by some loss of smell. Indeed, in many cases, olfactory decline presages the more devastating symptoms of these conditions. Disorders of mood, including depression and anxiety, are also associated with olfactory dysfunction both as causes and as effects. Thus, the olfactory system is, and will likely remain, a key component of efforts to discover the etiologies, treatments and eventual cures for a host of brain diseases which still cause so much human suffering. In this Special Issue, we invite original research and focused reviews from both basic and clinical scientists on any topic investigating the nexus between olfaction and neurological disease. We are particularly interested in work using modern technologies and investigating novel topics.

Prof. Dr. David M. Coppola
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Alzheimer’s
  • Parkinson’s
  • Huntington’s
  • MS
  • depression
  • anxiety
  • disorder
  • olfactory bulbectomy
  • anosmia
  • smell

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 281 KiB  
Article
Depression, Anxiety, and Neuropsychiatric Symptom Burden in a Longitudinal Cohort with Persistent Psychophysical Post-COVID Olfactory Dysfunction
by Tiana M. Saak, Jeremy P. Tervo, Brandon J. Vilarello, Patricia T. Jacobson, Francesco F. Caruana, Matthew D. A. Spence, Liam W. Gallagher, David A. Gudis, Jeffrey N. Motter, Davangere P. Devanand and Jonathan B. Overdevest
Brain Sci. 2024, 14(12), 1277; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14121277 - 19 Dec 2024
Viewed by 182
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is associated with a variety of neurologic deficits and impacts socialization decisions, mood, and overall quality of life. As a common symptom comprising the long COVID condition, persistent COVID-19-associated olfactory dysfunction (C19OD) may further impact the presentations of neuropsychiatric [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is associated with a variety of neurologic deficits and impacts socialization decisions, mood, and overall quality of life. As a common symptom comprising the long COVID condition, persistent COVID-19-associated olfactory dysfunction (C19OD) may further impact the presentations of neuropsychiatric sequelae. Our study aims to characterize the longitudinal burden of depression, anxiety, and neuropsychiatric symptoms in a population with C19OD. Methods: Individuals with perceived C19OD completed a psychophysical screening evaluation of their sense of smell using the comprehensive Sniffin’ Sticks olfactory assessment. Only those with validated psychophysical OD were included in this prospective longitudinal study for baseline and one-year follow-up. Participants also completed PHQ-9, Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and neuropsychiatric symptom questionnaires at each time point. Anxiety, depression, and neuropsychiatric symptom prevalence was calculated and compared between time points with Pearson’s chi-squared, Fisher’s exact, and Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Results: Each neuropsychiatric symptom evaluated in this study was reported by 13–49% of longitudinal cohort participants at both baseline and follow-up, except for seizure (0% at baseline and follow-up) and word-finding difficulty (61–68% at baseline and follow-up). Word-finding and focus difficulties were the most commonly reported symptoms. In total, 41% of participants reported some level of depression at baseline and 38% of participants reported depression at one-year follow-up, while 29% and 27% of participants reported some level of anxiety at respective time points. Conclusions: Individuals with C19OD are at risk for developing persistent neuropsychiatric conditions. These neurologic and psychiatric sequelae are persistent with repeated longitudinal assessment, even at nearly 2.5 years following initial COVID-19 diagnosis. Full article
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