We report an olfactory fMRI
study of the aging effect on the functions of central olfactory system during
normal adulthood and early aging. The smell identification function declined
with age. Accordingly, the BOLD signal responding to odor stimulations was significantly
decreased with age in bilateral DLPFC, left orbitofrontal cortex, and left insula.
However, there was no significant age correlation was detected with the BOLD
signal in the primary olfactory cortex. These results suggest that age-related olfactory
functional decline in human brain is more prominent in the secondary and higher
order central olfactory structures than the POC in early aging process.
