What’s next? The team surmises that the model map may be organized based on metabolism, which would be a fundamental shift in how scientists think about odors. In other words, odors that are close to each other on the map, or perceptually similar, are also more likely to be metabolically related. Sensory scientists currently organize molecules the way a chemist would, for example, asking does it have an ester or an aromatic ring?
“Our brains don't organize odors in this way,” said Mainland. “Instead, this map suggests that our brains may organize odors according to the nutrients from which they derive.”
— Read more in A step closer to digitizing the sense of smell: Monell Center, Osmo model describes odors better than human panelists at EurekAlert.
I didn’t go back to the original paper, but just the summary article is pretty interesting. It makes sense that our brains would sort scents on the basis of how our bodies respond to the molecules by the way the body uses the molecules (nutrients!), doesn’t it? Thanks for putting this here! A lot to think about…
There have been several articles on the subject in the past couple weeks. It really is interesting.