People born without a sense of smell breathe differently than those with a normal sense of smell, according to a new study published Tuesday.
This discovery may help explain the broader health impacts associated with anosmia—the inability to perceive odors—which has been linked to depression and increased mortality rates.
Key Findings
Researchers found that compared to people with an intact sense of smell, those with anosmia had two significant differences in breathing patterns.
“People with an intact sense of smell have these small micro-inhalations, what we refer to as ‘micro-sniffs’” that blend into their regular breathing patterns, lead study author Noam Sobel, head of the Department of Neurobiology at the Weizmann Institute of Science, told The Epoch Times. These micro-sniffs appear to be part of how people constantly explore their environment to detect odors….