How good is Your sense of smell?

[Saint in Paradise]

PARIS (AFP) - Psychopaths have a remarkably poor sense of smell, according to a study published on Thursday.

 

Researchers in Australia tested a theory that psychopathy -- a severe personality disorder characterised by lack of

empathy, antisocial behaviour and callousness -- may be linked to impaired smell ability.

 

Both phenomena have been independently traced to dysfunction in part of the brain called the orbito-frontal complex (OFC).

 

Mehmet Mahmut and Richard Stevenson of the Department of Psychology at Sydney's Macquarie University trialled the

olfactory skills of 79 individuals, aged 19 to 21, who had been diagnosed as non-criminal psychopaths and lived in the community.

 

Using "Sniffin' Sticks" -- 16 pens that contain different scents, such as orange, coffee and leather -- they found the participants

had problems in correctly identifying the smell, and then discriminating it against a different odour.

 

Those who scored highest on a standard scorecard of psychopathic traits did worst on both counts, even though they knew that

they were smelling something.

 

 

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/mp/14909149/psychopaths-have-poor-sense-of-smell-scientists/

 

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The finding could be useful for identifying psychopaths, who are famously manipulative in the face of questioning, says the paper, published in the journal Chemosensory Perception.

 

A thought has just ocurred to me, perhaps the FL should test prospective new owners sense of smell ?

Edited 20 September, 2012 by Saint in Paradise