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Approaches for Assessing Olfaction in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Olfactory Receptors

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1820))

Abstract

Olfactory traits in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are considered the strongest predictors of social impairment. Compared to other sensory abnormalities, olfactory abnormalities in individuals with ASD are poorly understood. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the current assessment in individuals with ASD. Several confounding factors have to be considered when conducting research on olfaction in individuals with ASD. Qualitative measures of olfaction contain only limited information about the olfactory stimuli. In addition, little systematic information is available about individual’s actual uses of olfaction in daily life. Only a limited number of experimental studies have performed quantitative measurements of olfactory abnormalities in ASD. Therefore, clarifying the relationship between olfactory traits and the influence of real-life situations in a laboratory setting is very difficult. Some new methodologies for measuring olfactory traits are gradually becoming available. New methods that reveal important links between ASD and olfactory traits should be developed in the future.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan

    Hirokazu Kumazaki, Yoshio Minabe & Mitsuru Kikuchi

  2. Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    Hirokazu Kumazaki & Masaru Mimura

  3. Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Masako Okamoto

  4. ERATO Touhara Chemosensory Signal Project, JST, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Masako Okamoto

  5. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    Sho Kanzaki

  6. Graduate School of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

    Ken-ichi Okada

Authors
  1. Hirokazu Kumazaki
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  2. Masako Okamoto
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  3. Sho Kanzaki
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  4. Ken-ichi Okada
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  5. Masaru Mimura
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  6. Yoshio Minabe
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  7. Mitsuru Kikuchi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hirokazu Kumazaki .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Matemática Computação e Cognição (CMCC), Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Fabio Marques Simoes de Souza

  2. Centro de Matemática Computação e Cognição (CMCC), Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Gabriela Antunes

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Kumazaki, H. et al. (2018). Approaches for Assessing Olfaction in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. In: Simoes de Souza, F., Antunes, G. (eds) Olfactory Receptors. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1820. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8609-5_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8609-5_16

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-8608-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-8609-5

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