Overview
Research overview
The psychophysiology of smell: how we smell, why we smell and what differentiates different smell qualities. We are also investigating the function of smell as a signalling medium in humans (human pheromones).
We use evoked potential recording, threshold testing and physiological monitoring (e.g. skin resistance, heart rate etc).
Smell has an affective ability by virtue of conditioned associations. However, smell is first analysed by the brain along two dimensions; hedonicity and intensity. We are investigating the psychophysiological responses to pleasant and unpleasant smells and determining the implications this has for olfactory processing in the brain. Some responses seem to be hard-wired while others exhibit remarkable plasticity; we are investigating the extent to which the olfactory system can learn to smell and how it adapts to smell using EEG, psychometric tests and physiological monitoring.
Biography
Publications
2017
- Warden-Smith, J. et al. 2017. Light and smell stimulus protocol reduced negative frontal EEG asymmetry and improved mood. Open Life Sciences 12(1), pp. 51-61. (10.1515/biol-2017-0006)
2014
- Allen, A. P., Jacob, T. J. C. and Smith, A. P. 2014. Effects and after-effects of chewing gum on vigilance, heart rate, EEG and mood. Physiology & Behavior 133, pp. 244-251. (10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.05.009)
2012
- O'Connor, S., Angelo, K. and Jacob, T. J. C. 2012. Burst firing versus synchrony in a gap junction connected olfactory bulb mitral cell network model. Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience 6(75) (10.3389/fncom.2012.00075)
2011
- Yang, L. et al. 2011. ClC-3 is a main component of background chloride channels activated under isotonic conditions by autocrine ATP in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Journal of Cellular Physiology 226(10), pp. 2516-2526. (10.1002/jcp.22596)
2009
- Mao, J. et al. 2009. Volume-activated chloride channels contribute to cell-cycle-dependent regulation of HeLa cell migration. Biochemical Pharmacology 77(2), pp. 159-168. (10.1016/j.bcp.2008.10.009)
2008
- Mao, J. et al. 2008. Suppression of ClC-3 channel expression reduces migration of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Biochemical Pharmacology 75(9), pp. 1706-1716. (10.1016/j.bcp.2008.01.008)
- O'Connor, S. and Jacob, T. J. C. 2008. Neuropharmacology of the olfactory bulb. Current Molecular Pharmacology 1(3), pp. 181-190. (10.2174/1874467210801030181)
- Vit, P. and Jacob, T. J. C. 2008. Putative anticataract properties of honey studied by the action of flavonoids on a lens culture model. Journal of Health Science 54(2), pp. 196-202. (10.1248/jhs.54.196)
2007
- Boulkroune, N., Wang, L., March, A., Walker, N. and Jacob, T. J. C. 2007. Repetitive olfactory exposure to the biologically Significant steroid androstadienone causes a hedonic shift and gender dimorphic changes in olfactory-evoked potentials. Neuropsychopharmacology 32(8), pp. 1822-1829. (10.1038/sj.npp.1301303)
- Mao, J., Wang, L., Fan, A., Wang, J., Xu, B., Jacob, T. J. C. and Chen, L. 2007. Blockage of volume-activated chloride channels inhibits migration of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry 19(5-6), pp. 249-258. (10.1159/000100644)
- Chen, L. X., Zhu, L. Y., Jacob, T. J. C. and Wang, L. 2007. Roles of volume-activated Cl−currents and regulatory volume decrease in the cell cycle and proliferation in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Cell Proliferation 40(2), pp. 253-267. (10.1111/j.1365-2184.2007.00432.x)
2006
- Jacob, T. J. C. and Wang, L. 2006. A new method for measuring reaction times for odour detection at iso-intensity: Comparison between an unpleasant and pleasant odour. Physiology & Behavior 87(3), pp. 500-505. (10.1016/j.physbeh.2005.11.018)
2005
- Jacob, T. J. C., Wang, L., Jaffer, S. and McPhee, S. 2005. Changes in the odor quality of androstadienone during exposure-induced sensitization. Chemical Senses 31(1), pp. 3-8. (10.1093/chemse/bji073)
- Mao, J. W. et al. 2005. Involvement of regulatory volume decrease in the migration of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Cell Research 15(5), pp. 371-378. (10.1038/sj.cr.7290304)
2004
- Wang, L., Hari, C., Chen, L. and Jacob, T. J. C. 2004. A new non-invasive method for recording the electro-olfactogram using external electrodes. Clinical Neurophysiology 115(7), pp. 1631-1640. (10.1016/j.clinph.2004.02.010)
2003
- Wang, L., Chen, L. and Jacob, T. J. C. 2003. Evidence for peripheral plasticity in human odour response. The Journal of Physiology 554(1), pp. 236-244. (10.1113/jphysiol.2003.054726)
- Jacob, T. J. C., Fraser, C., Wang, L., Walker, V. E. and O'Connor, S. 2003. Psychophysical evaluation of responses to pleasant and mal-odour stimulation in human subjects; adaptation, dose response and gender differences. International Journal of Psychophysiology 48(1), pp. 67-80. (10.1016/S0167-8760(03)00020-5)
2002
- Wang, L. et al. 2002. Regulatory volume decrease is actively modulated during the cell cycle. Journal of Cellular Physiology 193(1), pp. 110-119. (10.1002/jcp.10156)
- Wang, L., Walker, V. E., Sardi, H., Fraser, C. and Jacob, T. J. C. 2002. The correlation between physiological and psychological responses to odour stimulation in human subjects. Clinical Neurophysiology 113(4), pp. 542-551. (10.1016/S1388-2457(02)00029-9)
- Drake, K., Schuette, D., Chepelinsky, A. B., Jacob, T. J. C. and Crabbe, M. C. 2002. Corrigendum to: pH-Dependent channel activity of heterologously-expressed main intrinsic protein (MIP) from rat lens (FEBS 25772). FEBS Letters 516(1-3), pp. 287. (10.1016/S0014-5793(02)02499-7)
- Drake, K. D., Schuette, D., Chepelinsky, A. B., Jacob, T. J. C. and Crabbe, M. J. C. 2002. pH-Dependent channel activity of heterologously-expressed main intrinsic protein (MIP) from rat lens. FEBS Letters 512(1-3), pp. 199-204. (10.1016/S0014-5793(02)02284-6)
Research interests
Human Olfaction
The psychophysiology of smell. Thanks to Shaun Ali.
The psychophysiology of smell: how we smell, why we smell and what we smell.
We use evoked potential recording, threshold testing and physiological monitoring (e.g. skin resistance, heart rate etc).
Smell has an affective ability by virtue of conditioned associations. However, smell is first analysed by the brain along two dimensions; hedonicity and intensity. We are investigating the psychophysiological responses to pleasant and unpleasant smells and determining the implications this has for olfactory processing in the brain. Some responses seem to be hard-wired while others exhibit remarkable plasticity; we are investigating the extent to which the olfactory system can learn to smell and how it adapts to smell using EEG, psychometric tests and physiological monitoring.
Affiliated staff
- Simon O'Connor – PhD student
- Hari Churunal (FRCS) – Consultant, Honorary Research Fellow
- Nassima Boulkroune – Research Consultant, Liverpool University
Collaborators
- Liwei Wang – Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
- Lixin Chen - Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
- Saied Sanei – School of Engineering, Cardiff University