SynthesisNeuropsychology review2024
Does Olfactory Training Improve Brain Function and Cognition? A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Neuropsychology review, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07221123 (A Feasibility and Acceptability Study Testing Two Types of Smell Exposure Interventions in Middle-Aged Older Adults With HIV), which is not on this map. Cited by 45 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Feasibility and Acceptability Study Testing Two Types of Smell Exposure Interventions in Middle-Aged Older Adults With HIV
Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 70 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of eight-form Tai Chi combined with olfactory stimulation on working memory in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.Frontiers in public health · 2025Trial
- Sex differences modulate olfactory bulb volume-function relationships but not olfactory training-induced plasticity.Brain structure & function · 2026Article
- Olfactory radiomics signatures link pTau217 to cognitive impairment in probable Alzheimer's disease: a multi-cohort machine learning study.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2026Article
- Olfactory enrichment mitigates delayed neurocognitive recovery after major orthopaedic surgery in older patients: A randomised controlled trial.General psychiatry · 2026Article
- Familiarity enhances the effectiveness of odors as cues in paired-associate memory.Memory & cognition · 2026Article
- A Prefrontal Neuromodulation Route for Post-Traumatic Olfactory Dysfunction: A Perspective Supported by Recovery During Left-DLPFC rTMS.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Integrating Sensory Perception and Wearable Monitoring to Promote Healthy Aging: A New Frontier in Nutritional Personalization.Nutrients · 2026Review
- The scent of serenity: lessons learned from olfactory-enhanced virtual reality for stress reduction in isolated and confined environments.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Integrating olfactory assessments in consciousness disorders: methodologies and therapeutic potential.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Review
- Olfactory Decline in Elderly at High Altitudes: A Narrative Review.International journal of general medicine · 2026Review
- The olfactory-glymphatic syndrome: linking smell dysfunction, cognitive impairment and sleep disturbances in neuropathological disorders.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Functional olfactory impairment and fatigue in post-COVID-19 syndrome including ME/CFS - a longitudinal prospective observational study.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Article
- Olfactory Dysfunction and Cognitive Decline: Are They Related?Current allergy and asthma reports · 2025Review
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- The 4 item Concise Aging adults Smell Test (4CAST) to screen for olfactory-related comorbidities.Rhinology · 2025Article
- Advances in research on the pathogenesis and signaling pathways associated with postoperative delirium (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2025Review
- The combined effects of visual impairment, hearing loss, and olfactory dysfunction on cognitive impairment: An individually matched case-control study.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Article
- [Analysis of influencing factors on secondary olfactory dysfunction in different types of chronic sinusitis].Lin chuang er bi yan hou tou jing wai ke za zhi = Journal of clinical otorhinolaryngology head and neck surgery · 2025Article
- Olfactory receptors and human diseases.Cell and tissue research · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Olfactory training (OT), or smell training,consists of repeated exposure to odorants over time with the intended neuroplastic effect of improving or remediating olfactory functioning. Declines in olfaction parallel declines in cognition in various pathological conditions and aging. Research suggests a dynamic neural connection exists between olfaction and cognition. Thus, if OT can improve olfaction, could OT also improve cognition and support brain function? To answer this question, we conducted a systematic review of the literature to determine whether there is evidence that OT translates to improved cognition or altered brain morphology and connectivity that supports cognition. Across three databases (MEDLINE, Scopus, & Embase), 18 articles were identified in this systematic review. Overall, the reviewed studies provided emerging evidence that OT is associated with improved global cognition, and in particular, verbal fluency and verbal learning/memory. OT is also associated with increases in the volume/size of olfactory-related brain regions, including the olfactory bulb and hippocampus, and altered functional connectivity. Interestingly, these positive effects were not limited to patients with smell loss (i.e., hyposmia & anosmia) but normosmic (i.e., normal ability to smell) participants benefitted as well. Implications for practice and research are provided.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.