Title:
Increased responsiveness to chemosensory stimuli.

Abstract:
Olfactory impressions are context-dependent. For example, the smell of smoke can be a sign of danger, but it can also be a signal associated with smoked food or an open fireplace. Accordingly, odors can be misinterpreted. This happens in people with parosmias, where odors are perceived but typically experienced – regardless of the odor being presented - as unpleasant, hard-to-describe, and sometimes even fecal. This is often also described as an increased perception of odors. Other phenomena of distorted odor perceptions are found in pregnancy or in clinical syndromes like multiple chemical sensitivity, where odors can elicit impressive symptoms like sickness, asthmoid reactions, or palpitations. Interestingly, olfactory sensitivity is typically not different from healthy controls. The presentation will discuss these phenomena in detail; suggestions will be made as to the possible treatment of such conditions.