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Human olfactory consciousness and cognition: its unusual features may not result from unusual functions but from limited neocortical processing resources

Human and animal olfactory perception is shaped both by functional demands and by various environmental constraints seemingly peculiar to chemical stimuli. These demands and constraints may have generated a sensory system that is cognitively distinct from the major senses. In this article we identif...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Stevenson, Richard J., Attuquayefio, Tuki
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2013
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3814809/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24198808
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00819
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author Stevenson, Richard J.
Attuquayefio, Tuki
author_facet Stevenson, Richard J.
Attuquayefio, Tuki
author_sort Stevenson, Richard J.
collection PubMed
description Human and animal olfactory perception is shaped both by functional demands and by various environmental constraints seemingly peculiar to chemical stimuli. These demands and constraints may have generated a sensory system that is cognitively distinct from the major senses. In this article we identify these various functional demands and constraints, and examine whether they can be used to account for olfaction's unique cognitive features on a case-by-case basis. We then use this as grounds to argue that specific conscious processes do have functional value, a finding that naturally emerges when a comparative approach to consciousness across the senses is adopted. More generally, we conclude that certain peculiar features of olfactory cognition may owe more to limited neocortical processing resources, than they do to the challenges faced by perceiving chemical stimuli.
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spelling pubmed-38148092013-11-06 Human olfactory consciousness and cognition: its unusual features may not result from unusual functions but from limited neocortical processing resources Stevenson, Richard J. Attuquayefio, Tuki Front Psychol Psychology Human and animal olfactory perception is shaped both by functional demands and by various environmental constraints seemingly peculiar to chemical stimuli. These demands and constraints may have generated a sensory system that is cognitively distinct from the major senses. In this article we identify these various functional demands and constraints, and examine whether they can be used to account for olfaction's unique cognitive features on a case-by-case basis. We then use this as grounds to argue that specific conscious processes do have functional value, a finding that naturally emerges when a comparative approach to consciousness across the senses is adopted. More generally, we conclude that certain peculiar features of olfactory cognition may owe more to limited neocortical processing resources, than they do to the challenges faced by perceiving chemical stimuli. Frontiers Media S.A. 2013-11-01 /pmc/articles/PMC3814809/ /pubmed/24198808 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00819 Text en Copyright © 2013 Stevenson and Attuquayefio. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychology
Stevenson, Richard J.
Attuquayefio, Tuki
Human olfactory consciousness and cognition: its unusual features may not result from unusual functions but from limited neocortical processing resources
title Human olfactory consciousness and cognition: its unusual features may not result from unusual functions but from limited neocortical processing resources
title_full Human olfactory consciousness and cognition: its unusual features may not result from unusual functions but from limited neocortical processing resources
title_fullStr Human olfactory consciousness and cognition: its unusual features may not result from unusual functions but from limited neocortical processing resources
title_full_unstemmed Human olfactory consciousness and cognition: its unusual features may not result from unusual functions but from limited neocortical processing resources
title_short Human olfactory consciousness and cognition: its unusual features may not result from unusual functions but from limited neocortical processing resources
title_sort human olfactory consciousness and cognition: its unusual features may not result from unusual functions but from limited neocortical processing resources
topic Psychology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3814809/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24198808
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00819
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