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Advertisement Advertisement Nature Neuroscience * View all journals * Search * Log in * Explore content * About the journal * Publish with us * Subscribe * Sign up for alerts * RSS feed 1. nature 2. nature neuroscience 3. brief communications 4. article * Published: 17 December 2006 Mechanisms of scent-tracking in humans * Jess Porter^1, * Brent Craven^2, * Rehan M Khan^3,4, * Shao-Ju Chang^5, * Irene Kang^5, * Benjamin Judkewitz^3, * Jason Volpe^2, * Gary Settles^2 & * ... * Noam Sobel^1,3,4,5,6 Show authors Nature Neuroscience volume 10, pages 27-29 (2007)Cite this article * 6610 Accesses * 224 Citations * 1071 Altmetric * Metrics details A Corrigendum to this article was published on 01 February 2007 This article has been updated Abstract Whether mammalian scent-tracking is aided by inter-nostril comparisons is unknown. We assessed this in humans and found that (i) humans can scent-track, (ii) they improve with practice, (iii) the human nostrils sample spatially distinct regions separated by ~3.5 cm and, critically, (iv) scent-tracking is aided by inter-nostril comparisons. These findings reveal fundamental mechanisms of scent-tracking and suggest that the poor reputation of human olfaction may reflect, in part, behavioral demands rather than ultimate abilities. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution Relevant articles Open Access articles citing this article. * Parabrachial tachykinin1-expressing neurons involved in state-dependent breathing control + Joseph W. Arthurs + , Anna J. Bowen + ... Nathan A. Baertsch Nature Communications Open Access 21 February 2023 * Children's Personal Significance of Olfaction -- the ChiPSO Questionnaire + Elisabeth C. Lohrer + , Annika Dworschak + ... Valentin A. Schriever Chemosensory Perception Open Access 01 October 2022 * Flexible cue anchoring strategies enable stable head direction coding in both sighted and blind animals + Kadjita Asumbisa + , Adrien Peyrache + & Stuart Trenholm Nature Communications Open Access 19 September 2022 Access options Access through your institution Access through your institution Change institution Buy or subscribe Subscribe to this journal Receive 12 print issues and online access $209.00 per year only $17.42 per issue Learn more Rent or buy this article Prices vary by article type from$1.95 to$39.95 Learn more Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout Additional access options: * Log in * Learn about institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support Figure 1: Human subject's path following a scent trail, as compared to a dog's path. [41593_2007_Article_BFnn1819_Fig1_HTML] Figure 2: Training increased tracking velocity, decreased deviation from track, and increased sniffing frequency. [41593_2007_Article_BFnn1819_Fig2_HTML] Figure 3: The two-nostril advantage in sampling and tracking. [41593_2007_Article_BFnn1819_Fig3_H] Change history * [INS: 04 January 2007 corrected last name :INS] References 1. Vickers, N.J. Chem. Senses 31, 155-166 (2006). Article Google Scholar 2. Koehl, M.A. et al. Science 294, 1948-1951 (2001). Article CAS Google Scholar 3. Thesen, A., Steen, J.B. & Doving, K.B. J. Exp. Biol. 180, 247-251 (1993). CAS PubMed Google Scholar 4. Settles, G.S. J. Fluids Eng. 127, 189-218 (2005). Article Google Scholar 5. Mainland, J. & Sobel, N. Chem. Senses 31, 181-196 (2006). Article Google Scholar 6. Moulton, D.G. Am. Zool. 7, 421-428 (1967). Article CAS Google Scholar 7. Crimaldi, J.P. & Koseff, J.R. Exp. Fluids 31, 90-102 (2001). Article Google Scholar 8. Wilson, D.A. & Sullivan, R.M. Physiol. 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Willmore for help with the video tracking algorithm and K. Scott for comments on the manuscript, as well as Arak Elite. Author information Authors and Affiliations 1. 299 Life Science Addition, MC 3200, Program in Biophysics, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA Jess Porter & Noam Sobel 2. Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA Brent Craven, Jason Volpe & Gary Settles 3. Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA Rehan M Khan, Benjamin Judkewitz & Noam Sobel 4. Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA Rehan M Khan & Noam Sobel 5. Program in Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA Shao-Ju Chang, Irene Kang & Noam Sobel 6. Department of Neurobiology, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel Noam Sobel Authors 1. Jess Porter View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar 2. Brent Craven View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar 3. Rehan M Khan View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar 4. Shao-Ju Chang View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar 5. Irene Kang View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar 6. Benjamin Judkewitz View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar 7. Jason Volpe View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar 8. Gary Settles View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar 9. Noam Sobel View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Corresponding authors Correspondence to Jess Porter or Noam Sobel. Ethics declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing financial interests. Supplementary information Supplementary Fig. 1 An example dynamic power spectra and tracking path. (PDF 370 kb) Supplementary Video 1 Sample trial. (MOV 2171 kb) Supplementary Methods (PDF 90 kb) Rights and permissions Reprints and Permissions About this article Cite this article Porter, J., Craven, B., Khan, R. et al. Mechanisms of scent-tracking in humans. Nat Neurosci 10, 27-29 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/ nn1819 Download citation * Received: 07 September 2006 * Accepted: 22 November 2006 * Published: 17 December 2006 * Issue Date: 01 January 2007 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1819 Share this article Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Copy to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative This article is cited by * Parabrachial tachykinin1-expressing neurons involved in state-dependent breathing control + Joseph W. Arthurs + Anna J. Bowen + Nathan A. Baertsch Nature Communications (2023) * Flexible cue anchoring strategies enable stable head direction coding in both sighted and blind animals + Kadjita Asumbisa + Adrien Peyrache + Stuart Trenholm Nature Communications (2022) * Children's Personal Significance of Olfaction -- the ChiPSO Questionnaire + Elisabeth C. Lohrer + Annika Dworschak + Valentin A. Schriever Chemosensory Perception (2022) * Riechstorungen evidenzbasiert diagnostizieren und behandeln. Der unterschatzte Sinn - neue Erkenntnisse belegen die Bedeutung und Leistungsfahigkeit des menschlichen Geruchssinns. + Christian A. Muller + Bertold Renner Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift (2022) * The nonclassical mereology of olfactory experiences + Blazej Skrzypulec Synthese (2021) Access through your institution Buy or subscribe Access through your institution Change institution Buy or subscribe Advertisement Advertisement Explore content * Research articles * Reviews & Analysis * News & Comment * Videos * Current issue * Collections * Follow us on Twitter * Subscribe * Sign up for alerts * RSS feed About the journal * Aims & Scope * Journal Information * Journal Metrics * About the Editors * Our publishing models * Editorial Values Statement * Editorial Policies * Content Types * Web Feeds * Posters * Contact Publish with us * Submission Guidelines * For Reviewers * Language editing services * Submit manuscript Search Search articles by subject, keyword or author [ ] Show results from [All journals] Search Advanced search Quick links * Explore articles by subject * Find a job * Guide to authors * Editorial policies Nature Neuroscience (Nat Neurosci) ISSN 1546-1726 (online) ISSN 1097-6256 (print) nature.com sitemap About Nature Portfolio * About us * Press releases * Press office * Contact us Discover content * Journals A-Z * Articles by subject * Nano * Protocol Exchange * Nature Index Publishing policies * Nature portfolio policies * Open access Author & Researcher services * Reprints & permissions * Research data * Language editing * Scientific editing * Nature Masterclasses * Live Expert Trainer-led workshops * Research Solutions Libraries & institutions * Librarian service & tools * Librarian portal * Open research * Recommend to library Advertising & partnerships * Advertising * Partnerships & Services * Media kits * Branded content Career development * Nature Careers * Nature Conferences * Nature events Regional websites * Nature Africa * Nature China * Nature India * Nature Italy * Nature Japan * Nature Korea * Nature Middle East * Privacy Policy * Use of cookies * Your privacy choices/Manage cookies * Legal notice * Accessibility statement * Terms & Conditions * Your US state privacy rights Springer Nature (c) 2023 Springer Nature Limited Close Nature Briefing Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter -- what matters in science, free to your inbox daily. 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