Association Between Olfactory Memory Performance and Affective Symptoms in Children and Adults
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1 Association Between Olfactory Memory Performance and Affective Symptoms in Children and Adults Master thesis In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (M.Sc.) at the Faculty of Natural Science of the University of Graz submitted by: Marie Therese Schmer-Galunder Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Anne Schienle Institute for Psychology Graz, June 2020 2 Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................................... 4 Zusammenfassung .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 6 Olfactory system ......................................................................................................................................... 7 Olfactory measures .................................................................................................................................... 8 Olfactory memory ....................................................................................................................................... 9 Age differences in olfaction ................................................................................................................. 11 Labeling odors and its relation to olfactory memory ................................................................ 13 Depression symptoms and olfaction in adults ............................................................................. 15 Depression symptoms and olfaction in children ......................................................................... 18 Anxiety symptoms and olfaction in adults ..................................................................................... 19 Anxiety symptoms and olfaction in children ................................................................................ 21 Gender differences in olfaction .......................................................................................................... 22 Comparison to visual memory............................................................................................................ 23 Age differences in visual memory ..................................................................................................... 25 Depression and visual memory .......................................................................................................... 25 Anxiety and visual memory ................................................................................................................. 26 Gender differences in visual memory .............................................................................................. 27 Attention and memory........................................................................................................................... 27 Academic performance and memory ............................................................................................... 28 Method .............................................................................................................................................................. 29 Subjects ........................................................................................................................................................ 29 Procedure ................................................................................................................................................... 29 Materials ...................................................................................................................................................... 30 Planned statistical analysis .................................................................................................................. 35 Pre-processing the data......................................................................................................................... 36 Hypotheses & Explorative Questions ................................................................................................... 36 Results............................................................................................................................................................... 37 Age group differences ............................................................................................................................ 38 Regression Analyses olfactory memory .......................................................................................... 41 Regression Analyses visual memory ................................................................................................ 43 Additional analyses ................................................................................................................................. 45 3 Discussion ........................................................................................................................................................ 45 Limitations and future research ........................................................................................................ 51 Concluding thoughts ............................................................................................................................... 52 References ....................................................................................................................................................... 54 Appendix .......................................................................................................................................................... 67 Materials ...................................................................................................................................................... 67 4 Abstract Previous studies have found close connections between olfaction and affective symptoms. Yet most studies have focused on adults and measures of odor threshold and odor identification. There has been limited research into olfactory memory as a performance measure and the association with affective symptoms. The aim of the current study was to get a better understanding of odor memory and possible predictors that may be associated with it in both children and adults. The current study used a new short-term olfactory memory task, which consisted in the identification of six pairs of matching odorants. In addition, a visual memory task was used in order to have a direct comparison. 51 children aged 8-13 and 56 adults aged 19-32 participated in the study. Age differences in both olfactory and visual memory performance (time needed, number of mistakes) were analyzed. Questionnaires were used in order to assess depression and anxiety symptoms. Using multiple regression analyses possible predictors (correctly labeling, depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, gender, attention) that may be associated with the number of mistakes made in the olfactory and/or visual memory task were examined. The results showed that adults outperformed (made fewer mistakes and required less time) children in the odor memory task as well as a visual memory task. It was also found that symptoms of depression are a negative predictor of olfactory memory performance (number of mistakes made) in adults but not in children. Correctly labeling odors was not found to be a predictor of the number of mistakes made in the olfactory memory task, in neither children nor adults. For visual memory performance (number of mistakes made) in children, gender and anxiety were found to be significant predictors. The results support the notion that olfactory dysfunction could be an early marker of depression in adults, which in turn could be used for early diagnosis. Keywords: Olfaction, Olfactory Memory, Anxiety, Affect, Depression Symptoms, Children, Visual Memory, Labeling 5 Zusammenfassung Der enge Zusammenhang zwischen Geruchssinn und affektiven Symptomen wurde bereits in früheren Studien festgestellt. Allerdings legte ein Großteil der Studien den Fokus auf die Untersuchung von Erwachsenen und der Messung der Geruchsschwelle und –Identifikation. Das Gedächtnis als Maß für olfaktorische Leistung und sein Zusammenhang mit affektiven Symptomen wurde bis dato wenig untersucht. Ziel der aktuellen Studie war es, das olfaktorische Gedächtnis und mögliche Prädiktoren bei Kindern und Erwachsenen besser zu verstehen. Die vorliegenden Studie verwendete eine neue Aufgabe, um das olfaktorische Kurzzeitgedächtnis zu erfassen. Diese bestand darin sechs Paare olfaktorischer Stimuli zu indentifizieren. Zusätzlich wurden visuelle Stimuli verwendet, um einen direkten Vergleich zu ermöglichen. 51 Kinder (8 bis 13 Jahre) und 56 Erwachsene (19 bis 32 Jahre) nahmen an der Studie teil. Unterschiede zwischen den zwei Altersgruppen in der olfaktorischen und der visuellen Gedächtnisleistung (Zeit, Fehlerrate) wurden analysiert. Zusätzlich wurden Fragebögen verwendet, um Depressions- und Angstsymptome zu erheben. Mittels Regressionsanalysen wurden mögliche Prädiktoren (Geruchsbezeichnung, Depression, Angst, Geschlecht, Aufmerksamkeit) untersucht, die mit der olfaktorischen und/oder der visuellen Gedächtnisleistung (Fehlerrate) verbunden sein können. Die Ergebnisse zeigten dass die Erwachsenen in der olfaktorischen und visuellen Gedächtnisaufgabe schneller