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S Van Toller

Publications and source records attributed to S Van Toller.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

The effect of odour priming on cortical EEG and visual ERP responses.

Two studies are reported that were designed to examine the way in which subjects, when primed with an olfactory stimulus, make perceptual judgements regarding subsequent congruent/incongruent information. The paradigm used was based on a modified version of a standard ERP semantic priming procedure. Subjects watched a computer screen and made a decision as to whether an image was congruent or incongruent with a priming olfactory stimulus. Results of the two studies showed significant effects in the N400 component of the visual ERP between congruent and incongruent stimuli are reported when a complex malodour accord was used as a prime but not when a complex pleasant odour accord was used as a prime.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

The effect of odour priming on long latency visual evoked potentials of matching and mismatching objects.

This study reports a cross-modal, olfactory/visual event related potential (ERP) using odours as olfactory primes. The results show a difference in the ERP waveform for the N400 waveform when a visual image does not match the priming odour. An N400 peak was produced for both the matched and mismatched conditions but the peaks were significantly more negative for the mismatched condition. By the use of non-food odours this study extends an earlier finding by Grigor, who, using the same ERP paradigm, obtained similar results for food odours and photographs of food.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

A possible protocognitive role for odor in human infant development.

Concepts relating to semiochemistry are now prevalent in the current literature on olfaction. Two fundamental tools of semiotics are metaphors, involving cognitive and verbal processes, and metonyms, involving nonverbal associations. By extending the concept of metonymy to non-linguistic transmission, we propose a possible explanation of how olfaction acts as a semiotic sense. Consideration of the sense of smell in animals and humans demonstrates its excellence for the formation of learned associations. In animals we find salient and complex information transmitted via biological odors. In this review, the olfactory dyadic relationship between mother and child is used for the theoretical proposal that the sense of smell plays an important protocognitive role in the genesis of cognition via mechanisms of in utero and postnatal nonlinguistic metonymic learning processes.

Brain↗
PubMed1989

Is there directional smelling?

The aim of the present study was to establish the crucial precondition for directional smelling, i.e. the ability of humans to discriminate between odorous stimuli perceived either from the right or from the left side. When the 'pure' odorants hydrogen sulphide or vanillin were used as stimulants localization was random. On the other hand stimulation with carbon dioxide or menthol yielded identification rates of more than 96%. These results established the fact that directional orientation, considering single momentary odorous sensations, can only be assumed, when the olfactory stimulants simultaneously excite the trigeminal somatosensory system.

Adult↗