Olfactory Evoked Potentials in Clinical Populations

描述(由申请人提供)：最佳的健康、功能和营养状况是美国老年人生活质量的关键。超过3500万美国人年龄在60岁以上，年龄最大的老年人是美国人口中增长最快的部分。大约25%的50岁以上的人和60%以上的80岁以上的人有嗅觉障碍(Murphy等人，2002年)。此外，阿尔茨海默氏症的嗅觉功能也受到严重影响。阿尔茨海默氏症是一种破坏性疾病，影响着500多万美国老年人。它对个人、照顾者(S)、医疗保健系统和社会的个人和经济影响是深远的。虽然与年龄相关的嗅觉障碍的心理物理和知觉表现是已知的，但潜在的神经原因尚不清楚。本应用将使用神经电地形图程序在气味信息处理过程中对老化的大脑进行成像，以验证中枢神经系统(CNS)活动的功能变化反映衰老过程中的化学感觉丧失这一总体假设。为了实现这一目标，我们开发了可应用于多电极阵列的嗅觉事件相关电位(OERP)技术，以及精确计时呈现嗅觉刺激所需的刺激技术。这些范例探索气味记忆过程，特别容易受到衰老和痴呆的影响。这些方法将提供关于正常年龄改变的中枢神经系统激活模式的大小和时间的大量信息，与那些因痴呆疾病而有认知障碍风险的人相比。反映嗅觉中枢神经系统损害的神经电学测量可作为痴呆的标志，因此具有相当大的潜在临床意义。这个项目的结果将加深我们对健康和疾病中老化大脑中嗅觉处理变化的理解。化学感觉和特别是嗅觉功能的损害会对老年人的饮食选择、营养状况、发病率和死亡率产生负面影响(Schiffman，1997)。对化学感觉功能的更好理解可能会为优化老年人的健康和生活质量提供途径。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Optimum health, functioning and nutritional status are key to the quality of life in the older American. More than 35 million Americans are over the age of 60, and the oldest old represent the fastest growing segment of the American population. Approximately 25% of those over 50 and more than 60% of those over 80 years have olfactory impairment (Murphy et al., 2002). Furthermore, olfactory function is significantly affected in Alzheimer's disease, a devastating disease that affects more than 5 million older Americans. Its personal and financial impact on the individual, the caregiver(s), the health care system and society are profound. Although the psychophysical and perceptual manifestations of age-related olfactory impairment are known, tie underlying neural causes are unclear. The present application will employ neuroelectric topographic mapping procedures to image the aging brain during odor information processing in order to test the overarching hypothesis that functional changes in central nervous system (CNS) activity, detectable in EEG/ERP activity, reflect chemosensory loss in aging. To accomplish this goal we have developed olfactory event-related potential (OERP) techniques that can be applied in multi-electrode arrays and the stimulation techniques necessary to present olfactory stimuli with precise timing. These paradigms probe odor memory processes particularly vulnerable to aging and dementia. These methods will provide substantial information about the magnitude and timing of normal age altered CNS activation patterns in comparison to those at risk for cognitive impairment from dementing illness. Neuroelectric measures that reflect olfactory CNS impairment may serve as a marker for dementia and, therefore, have considerable potential clinical significance. The results of this project will deepen our understanding of changes in olfactory processing in the aging brain in health and disease. Impairment of chemosensory and specifically olfactory function can negatively impact dietary selection, nutritional status, morbidity and mortality in older persons (Schiffman, 1997). A better understanding of chemosensory function may suggest avenues to optimize health and quality of life in older adults.