Determination of odor profile of uni̇versity students in the Ankara province

Due to it's subjective nature, olfaction has not been investigated as much as the other senses, likewise interpretation of olfactory signals -has not yet been fully understood. However, it's known that olfactory signals are transmitted to the brain either directly or by the way of thalamus. One of the two olfactory pathways ends in the olfactory cortex, while the other travels to the limbic system where it is believed that sensory messages are interpreted. Yet, scientists barely have enough information to properly characterize the nature of olfaction. Therefore, the most important point of this subject is the odor appreciation profile, in which differences between societies should be revealed beyond individual differences. In this study, interpretation of EEG data along with the participants' subjective statements of the sample and the creation of a common denominator by considering the gender variable was utilized in the aim of determining the odor appreciation profile of Turkish society. The selected naive subjects for this study had no detailed knowledge about smells. 155 subjects (84 female and 71 male college students) between the ages of 18 and 28 years participated in the subjective sensory evaluation. EEG measurements were recorded from a randomly selected set of 36 students, out of all the participants, consisting of 18 right-handed female and 18 right-handed male subjects ranging in age from 18 to 28 years. The odor panel of the research included orange blossom, jasmine, peach, aldehyde, musk, vanilla, sandalwood, grass, amber, bergamot, pine, rose and patchouli; 13 different pleasant odors, selected from different fragrance families. In this research, participants' subjective statements by smelling the odors and EEG recordings during the smelling process with their demographic characteristics is examined; consequently the Odor Profile of University Students in the Ankara Province is presented and in accordance with the conclusion recommendations are postulated.