Reliability and Validity of the Chinese Version of the Revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory.

The Revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI-R) is a measurement tool for assessing an individual's willingness to engage in uncommitted sexual relations. Despite its widespread use in various contexts, no studies have validated the use of this instrument in China. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess the reliability and validity of an existing Chinese translation of the SOI-R. A total of 2,209 participants were recruited and randomly divided into two groups: exploratory factor analysis was conducted on one group and confirmatory factor analysis on the other, with 161 participants from the total sample recruited to assess the test-retest reliability. Criterion validity was measured by testing the correlations between sociosexuality and sexual desire, mate value, sexual attitudes, and personality traits. The results confirmed a three-factor structure (sociosexual behaviors, attitudes, and desire) for the SOI-R. Furthermore, the findings demonstrated good reliability (internal consistency and test-retest stability) and validity (criterion validity, convergent validity, and discriminant validity) of the SOI-R, supporting its suitability as an assessment tool for sociosexual orientation in China.

Development and validation of the Olfactory Memory Test Battery (OMTB) based on odors with high- and low-verbalizability.

BACKGROUND: Odor memory is an important field of clinical research for its distinctive characteristics, which differ from those of other sensory systems. To date, several tests have been implemented for the assessment of odor memory. Despite a range of studies demonstrating the importance of verbal mediation in odor memory, few have distinguished odor memory performance in different odor verbalization levels. NEW METHOD: We aimed to develop a standardized odor memory test toolbox with one group of odors that are easily verbally identified and the other group of odors that are difficult to identify. The test contained two odor categories (high- and low-verbalizability odors), each consisting of three subtests (short- and long-term memory and working memory). RESULTS: Satisfactory test-retest reliability and solid validity of the odor recognition and working memory test were shown in both odor categories. Moreover, people scored significantly better with high- than low-verbalizability odors. A negative age effect on odor memory performance was also found. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS: No previous odor memory test distinguished odor memory performance in different odor verbalization levels, while the Olfactory Memory Test Battery (OMTB) contains high- and low-verbalizability odors and each category has three subtests. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicated the OMTB is a comprehensive assessment of odor memory with good reliability and validity. All subtests can be used separately or in combination with each other according to the clinical and research needs.

Sniffing of Body Odors and Individual Significance of Olfaction Are Associated with Sexual Desire: A Cross-Cultural Study in China, India, and the USA.

Olfactory sensations contribute to sexual desire and sexual behavior. However, the degree to which individual importance of olfactory function and body odors relate to sexual desire is not known. This study was conducted to preliminarily examine these relationships among Chinese college students (N = 1903) via the Importance of Olfaction Questionnaire, the Body Odor Sniffing Questionnaire, and the Sexual Desire Inventory, which were used to measure subjective significance of olfaction, frequency of sniffing self or others, and sexual desire, respectively. Individuals who assigned higher importance to olfaction or engaged more in body odor sniffing showed stronger sexual desire. We further explored these associations in different cultures to determine whether cultural consistency existed. We conducted a second study to make cross-cultural comparisons between Indian (N = 313) and US (N = 249) populations. For both countries, a higher importance placed on olfaction and a higher prevalence of body odor sniffing were consistently associated with stronger sexual desire. In conclusion, our study confirmed that people who placed more value on olfactory function or engaged more in body odor sniffing showed stronger sexual desire. These correlations were consistent for both sexes and across different cultures, further indicating the importance of olfaction in sexuality.

Do you often sniff yourself or others? Development of the Body Odor Sniffing Questionnaire and a cross-cultural survey in China and the USA.

OBJECTIVES: Body odor can convey much information about an individual and thus we frequently engage in sniffing one's own and other people's body odor. However, there is scarce evidence on the within- and cross-cultural variation in body odor sniffing behaviors and no psychometric scale for specifically measuring such behaviors. Hence, our study aimed to develop the Body Odor Sniffing Questionnaire (BOSQ) and used it to make a cross-cultural comparison. METHODS: In Study 1, 2,026 participants were recruited from our university, with one half used for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to examine the factor structure of the BOSQ (sample 1) and the other half used for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to verify the factor structure (sample 2). In Study 2, 352 Chinese and 254 US participants were recruited to complete the BOSQ through Wenjuanxing and Amazon Mechanical Turk, enabling comparison of body odor sniffing behaviors across two cultures. RESULTS: The Study 1 results showed that the BOSQ comprises 17 items in three factors: self-private body odor, others' body odor, and self-common body odor. The CFA results further supported that this three-factor model was a good fit. The Study 2 results showed that US participants scored higher overall and on the self-private body odor and others' body odor dimensions, whereas Chinese participants scored higher on the self-common body odor dimension. CONCLUSIONS: The BOSQ demonstrated good reliability and validity, which is a useful tool for evaluating individuals' body odor sniffing behaviors. Cross-cultural difference existed as the US population reported a higher prevalence of body odor sniffing behavior, compared to the Chinese population.

Olfactory identification impairment in early-and late-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Early-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (EOCD) is a comparatively severe subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Olfactory dysfunction is a common symptom of OCD, but all previous studies have focused on late-onset OCD (LOCD). METHODS: The current study compared olfactory identification ability in EOCD patients and age-matched and sex-matched LOCD patients and healthy controls. Thirty patients with EOCD, 30 patients with LOCD and 30 healthy controls were included in the study. Olfactory function was measured using the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test. The Logical Memory and Visual Reproduction components of the Revised Wechsler Memory Scale were used to evaluate verbal and visual memory. RESULTS: There were significant differences in olfactory identification ability between the three groups. EOCD patients were comparable to LOCD patients, while both patients' group showing worse olfactory identification ability than controls. Olfactory identification ability was not significantly correlated with verbal and visual memory or clinical symptoms in the EOCD group or the LOCD group. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study suggest that olfactory identification ability may be a relatively stable indicator of OCD, independent of age, duration of illness, verbal and visual memory, and severity of clinical symptoms.

Odour identification impairment is a trait but not a disease-specific marker for bipolar disorders: Comparisons of bipolar disorder with different episodes, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: Olfactory deficits have been reported in bipolar disorder, but this finding is controversial. This study investigated whether olfactory deficit can serve as a specific marker for bipolar disorder by comparing olfactory function in different mood episodes of bipolar disorder. We also compared olfactory function in bipolar disorder and other mental disorders - namely, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia. METHODS: The study consisted of two experiments. Experiment 1 enrolled 175 bipolar disorder patients (70 depressed subgroup, 70 manic subgroup and 35 euthymic subgroup) and 47 controls. Experiment 2 enrolled the participants from Experiment 1, along with 85 major depressive disorder and 90 schizophrenia patients. The Sniffin' Sticks test was used to evaluate odour identification ability and odour threshold (as a measure of odour sensitivity). The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Young Mania Rating Scale were used to assess depressive symptoms in all subjects and manic symptoms in bipolar disorder patients, respectively. We also used the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale to assess clinical symptoms in schizophrenia patients. RESULTS: All three bipolar disorder patient subgroups (depressed, manic and euthymic subgroup) showed reduced odour identification ability compared to controls; however, only patients in the acute phase of a mood episode (depressed, and manic subgroup) showed impaired odour sensitivity. Clinical symptoms were negatively correlated with odour sensitivity but not odour identification ability. Bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder patients showed less odour identification and sensitivity impairment than schizophrenia patients. CONCLUSION: Odour sensitivity is a potential dopaminergic marker for distinguishing between bipolar disorder patients in acute phase vs remission, while odour identification is a trait but a nonspecific marker of bipolar disorder.

Early-Onset Schizophrenia Showed Similar but More Severe Olfactory Identification Impairment Than Adult-Onset Schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: "Early-onset schizophrenia" (EOS) is defined as disease with onset before the age of 18 years. This subset of schizophrenia exhibits worse cognitive function and carries a worse prognosis than adult-onset schizophrenia (AOS). Olfactory impairment has been found in patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. However, most research has focused on olfactory impairment in patients with AOS: olfactory function in EOS is not known. The aim of this study was to investigate the olfactory identification ability in EOS, and its relationship with negative symptoms. METHODS: We compared olfactory function between two independent samples: 40 patients with EOS and 40 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs); as well as 40 patients with AOS and 40 age- and sex-matched HCs. The University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test was administered. RESULTS: The EOS group and AOS group exhibited worse olfactory identification ability than HCs; impairment correlated significantly with negative symptoms. Olfactory identification was worse in patients suffering EOS compared with those suffering AOS. CONCLUSION: Olfactory identification impairment may be a trait marker of schizophrenia.

Chemosensory Anhedonia in Patients With Schizophrenia and Individuals With Schizotypy: A Questionnaire Study.

Anhedonia, the loss or decline of the ability to enjoy pleasure, is an important clinical characteristic of schizophrenia. Schizotypal traits refer to the appearance of subclinical symptoms of schizophrenia across normal people. Still, few studies have investigated chemosensory anhedonia in schizophrenia patients and schizotypy individuals. Seventy-one schizophrenia patients (SCZ), 162 schizotypy individuals (SCT) as selected by the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), and 182 healthy controls (HC) participated in our study. We used the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) to measure the clinical symptoms of schizophrenia patients. All participants completed the Chemosensory Pleasure Scale (CPS), which was used to assess participants' smell and taste hedonic capacities. We found that the three groups differed in chemosensory anhedonia. The SCZ group presented more severe chemosensory anhedonia than the SCT group, and the SCT group presented more severe chemosensory anhedonia than the HC group. We also found that chemosensory hedonic capacity was negatively correlated with negative schizotypal traits in the SCT group. Our results suggested that chemosensory anhedonia is an important characteristic of schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Decreasing prevalence of specific anosmia to non-steroid odorants from childhood to adolescence.

Specific anosmia is defined as the inability to detect a particular odorant, despite a normal olfactory function. Previous studies reported sex-related difference in detection threshold to steroid odorants, like androstenone or androstadienone during adolescence, and boys showed an increased detection threshold with age. However, such investigations have not been performed for non-steroid odorants. Hence, the current study investigated sex- and age-related effects on the prevalence of specific anosmia in children/adolescents aged 5-14 years (n = 800) to non-steroid odorants. The detection thresholds of three non-steroid odorants (bacdanol, methylsalicylate, and 3-hydrox-2-methyl-4-pyrone) with different molecular weights were measured. Results indicate that the rate of specific anosmia for all three odorants decreases from childhood to adolescence. This decrease is independent of sex and is most pronounced for odorants with higher molecular weight compared to the odorant with lower molecular weight. Thus, the development of basic olfactory functions for these three odorants continues until adolescence. The effect of molecular weight suggests that the locus of effect is at the periphery of the olfactory system, due to changes in either olfactory receptor expression patterns or perireceptor events.

Self-reported mini olfactory questionnaire (Self-MOQ): A simple and useful measurement for the screening of olfactory dysfunction.

OBJECTIVES: Olfactory dysfunction is a common problem. However, too little attention has been paid to questionnaires used to evaluate quantitative olfactory dysfunction. Therefore, the current study aimed to develop a simple self-reported Mini Olfactory Questionnaire (Self-MOQ) for the screening of quantitative olfactory dysfunction in clinical practice. METHODS: Two hundred and eighty-five patients who had subjective complaints of olfactory disorder participated. The Sniffin' Sticks test score was used to define functional anosmia, hyposmia, or normosmia. We assessed the factor structure as well as internal consistency, convergent validity, and discrimination performance. RESULTS: The results showed that the final version of the Self-MOQ included only one factor with five items. The Self-MOQ has a good internal reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.84) and validity (r = -0.60, P < 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic analyses indicated that the Self-MOQ as compared to a visual analogue scale (VAS) is an effective measure for discriminating normosmic from hyposmic/anosmic patients, anosmic patients, and hyposmic patients. CONCLUSION: The Self-MOQ is a simple, reliable and valid questionnaire to screen olfactory dysfunction in clinical practice that appears to be superior to the use of VASs but does not replace olfactory testing. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 Laryngoscope, 2019.

The Chemosensory Pleasure Scale: A New Assessment for Measuring Hedonic Smell and Taste Capacities.

Anhedonia, or the inability to experience pleasure, is a key clinical feature of many mental disorders such as depression and schizophrenia. Although various valid measurements of anhedonia and pleasure experience exist, no scales exist that quantify smell and taste pleasure experiences. The Chemosensory Pleasure Scale (CPS) was therefore designed to assess the hedonic capacity for smell and taste pleasure. We examined the reliability and validity of the CPS in our study. First, we conducted exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to identify and examine the structure of the CPS. Second, the CPS's validity and test-retest stability were investigated. The CPS was correlated with other measurements of anhedonia and pleasure experience. Furthermore, the empirical validity of CPS was also examined in our study. The results indicated that the CPS is a reliable and valid measure for assessing an individual's hedonic capacity for smell and taste pleasure in nonclinical samples. Further application of the CPS for various populations is also discussed herein, especially for patients with mental disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, and autism.

Altered Functional Connectivity of the Default Mode Network in Patients With Schizo-obsessive Comorbidity: A Comparison Between Schizophrenia and Obsessive-compulsive Disorder.

Clinical and neuroimaging data support the idea that schizo-obsessive comorbidity (SOC), similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and schizophrenia (SCZ), may be a distinct brain disorder. In this study, we examined the strength of resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) between 19 subregions of the default mode network (DMN) and whole brain voxels in 22 patients with SOC features, 20 patients with SCZ alone, 22 patients with OCD, and 22 healthy controls (HC). The main results demonstrated that patients with SOC exhibited the highest rsFC strength within subregions of the DMN and the lowest rsFC strength between the DMN and subregions of the salience network (SN) compared with the other 3 groups. In addition, compared with HCs, all 3 patient groups exhibited increased rsFC between subregions of the DMN and the executive control network (ECN). The SOC and SCZ group both exhibited increased rsFC between subregions of the DMN and the middle temporal gyrus, but the OCD group exhibited decreased rsFC between them. These findings highlight a specific alteration in functional connectivity in the DMN in patients with SOC, and provide new insights into the dysfunctional brain organization of different mental disorders.

Anticipatory pleasure for future rewards is attenuated in patients with schizophrenia but not in individuals with schizotypal traits.

The anhedonia paradox is consistently observed in individuals with schizophrenia. However, the underlying mechanism of the dissociation between trait and state hedonic capacity remains unclear. In the present study, we aimed to re-examine anhedonia in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) and individuals with high schizotypy (HS) using the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task to assess different dimensions of anticipatory and consummatory pleasure. We recruited 44 SCZ patients, 46 matched healthy controls (HC), 30 individuals with HS and 35 with low schizotypy (LS). The modified MID task was used to measure anticipatory and consummatory pleasure in terms of valence and arousal ratings. To measure the predictive value of anticipatory pleasure, participants were asked to predict their hedonic experience before the MID task. For SCZ patients, there was no significant Group main effect or Group × Prize interaction on consummatory pleasantness to reward received or loss avoidance. As expected, SCZ patients (particularly male patients) reported less pleasantness and arousal to future rewards in both the prediction and feeling dimensions compared with HC. Additionally, male patients reported less anticipatory and consummatory negativity than HC. Individuals with HS predicted more arousing experience to high-rewards than LS individuals. They also reported and predicted more negativity to in-the-moment and future monetary losses. Further, the negative dimension of schizotypy predicted low levels of pleasantness and arousal towards future rewards, but the positive dimension predicted increased arousing experience towards future rewards. In conclusion, the anhedonia paradox in schizophrenia could be partially accounted for by the dissociation between anticipatory and consummatory pleasure.

Altered grey matter volume and cortical thickness in patients with schizo-obsessive comorbidity.

Recent findings suggest that schizo-obsessive comorbidity (SOC) may be a unique diagnostic entity. We examined grey matter (GM) volume and cortical thickness in 22 patients with SOC, and compared them with 21 schizophrenia (SCZ) patients, 22 obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients and 22 healthy controls (HCs). We found that patients with SOC exhibited reduced GM volume in the left thalamus, the left inferior semi-lunar lobule of the cerebellum, the bilateral medial orbitofrontal cortex (medial oFC), the medial superior frontal gyrus (medial sFG), the rectus gyrus and the anterior cingulate cortex (aCC) compared with HCs. Patients with SOC also exhibited reduced cortical thickness in the right superior temporal gyrus (sTG), the right angular gyrus, the right supplementary motor area (SMA), the right middle cingulate cortex (mCC) and the right middle occipital gyrus (mOG) compared with HCs. Together with the differences in GM volume and cortical thickness between patients with SOC and patients with only SCZ or only OCD, these findings highlight the GM changes specific to patients with SOC.

Neural responses during the anticipation and receipt of olfactory reward and punishment in human.

Pleasure experience is an important part of normal healthy life and is essential for general and mental well-being. Many neuroimaging studies have investigated the underlying neural processing of verbal and visual modalities of reward. However, how the brain processes rewards in the olfactory modality is not fully understood. This study aimed to examine the neural basis of olfactory rewards in 25 healthy participants using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We developed an Olfactory Incentive Delay (OLID) imaging task distinguishing between the anticipation and receipt of olfactory rewards and punishments. We found that the pallidum was activated during the anticipation of both olfactory rewards and punishments. The bilateral insula was activated independently from the odours' hedonic valence during the receipt phase. In addition, right caudate activation during the anticipation of unpleasant odours was correlated with self-reported anticipatory hedonic traits, whereas bilateral insular activation during the receipt of pleasant odours was correlated with self-reported consummatory hedonic traits. These findings suggest that activity in the insula and the caudate may be biomarkers of anhedonia. These findings also highlight a useful and valid paradigm to study the neural circuitry underlying reward processing in people with anhedonia.

Olfactory identification deficit and its relationship with hedonic traits in patients with first-episode schizophrenia and individuals with schizotypy.

OBJECTIVE: Olfactory identification impairments have been consistently found in schizophrenia patients. However, few previous studies have investigated this in first-episode patients. There are also inconsistent findings regarding olfactory identification ability in psychometrically-defined schizotypy individuals. In this study, we directly compared the olfactory identification ability of first-episode schizophrenia patients with schizotypy individuals. The relationship between olfactory identification impairments and hedonic traits was also examined. METHODS: Thirty-five first-episode schizophrenia patients, 40 schizotypy individuals as defined by the Chapman's Anhedonia Scales and 40 demographically matched controls were recruited. The University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test was administered. Hedonic capacity was assessed using the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS). RESULTS: The results showed that both the schizophrenia and schizotypy groups showed poorer olfactory identification ability than controls, and the impairment was significantly correlated with reduced pleasure experiences. CONCLUSION: Our findings support olfactory identification impairment as a trait marker for schizophrenia.

The effects of working memory training on enhancing hedonic processing to affective rewards in individuals with high social anhedonia.

Anhedonia is a core feature of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia and is less responsive to antipsychotic medication. Little is known whether anhedonia could be alleviated by cognitive training. The present study aimed to examine whether hedonic deficits observed in individuals with high social anhedonia could be reduced by working memory (WM) training. Thirty-four individuals with high social anhedonia were randomly assigned to either a WM training group or a control group. The WM training group received 20 sessions of dual n-back task training for four weeks. The affective incentive delay task was administered in all participants before the training and one month later. The results showed that individuals who received the WM training showed significant improvement in WM performance (F(19, 304)=55.80, p<0.001) and they also showed significant improvement in approach sensitivity to rewards (p=0.004). These preliminary findings suggest that hedonic processing could be improved through WM training in individuals with high social anhedonia. These results may have important implications for the development of non-pharmacological interventions to alleviate anhedonia in patients with schizophrenia.

The neural mechanism of hedonic processing and judgment of pleasant odors: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Pleasure is essential to normal healthy life. Olfaction, as 1 of the neurobehavioral probes of hedonic capacity, has a unique advantage compared to other sensory modalities. However, it is unclear how olfactory hedonic information is processed in the brain. This study aimed to investigate olfactory hedonic processing in the human brain. METHOD: We conducted an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis on 16 functional imaging studies that examined brain activation in olfactory hedonic processing-related tasks in healthy adults. RESULTS: The results show that there is a core olfactory hedonic processing network, which consists of the bilateral parahippocampal gyrus/amygdala (BA34), the left middle frontal gyrus (BA6), the right middle frontal gyrus/lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC; BA10), the bilateral cingulate gyrus (BA32), the right lentiform nucleus/lateral globus pallidus, the right medial frontal gyrus/medial OFC (BA11), the left superior frontal gyrus (BA10), and the right insula (BA13). Moreover, our findings highlight that the right hemisphere is predominant in explicit odor hedonic judgment. Finally, the results indicate that there are significant differences in brain activation for hedonic judgment and passive smelling. CONCLUSION: These results support the hypothesis that the OFC plays a key role in explicit hedonic judgment. (PsycINFO Database Record

What does the nose know? Olfactory function predicts social network size in human.

Olfaction is an important medium of social communication in humans. However, it is not known whether olfactory function is associated with social network size. This study aimed to explore the underlying neural mechanism between olfactory function and social network. Thirty-one healthy individuals participated in this study. Social network size was estimated using the Social Network Index. Olfactory function was assessed with the Sniffin' Stick Test. The results showed that there is a significant positive correlation between the size of an individual's social network and their olfactory sensitivity. We also found that amygdala functional connectivity with the orbitofrontal cortex appeared to be related to olfactory sensitivity and social network size.

Cross-cultural validation of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 in China.

The gap between the demand and delivery of mental health services in mainland China can be reduced by validating freely available and psychometrically sound psychological instruments. The present research examined the Chinese version of the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). Study 1 administered the DASS-21 to 1,815 Chinese college students and found internal consistency indices (Cronbach's alpha) of .83, .80, and .82 for the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress subscales, respectively, and .92 for the total DASS total. Test-retest reliability over a 6-month interval was .39 to .46 for each of the 3 subscales and .46 for the total DASS. Moderate convergent validity of the Depression and Anxiety subscales was demonstrated via significant correlations with the Chinese Beck Depression Inventory (r = .51 at Time 1 and r = .64 at Time 2) and the Chinese State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (r = .41), respectively. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the original 3-factor model with 1 minor change (nonnormed fit index [NNFI] = .964, comparative fit index [CFI] = .968, and root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = .079). Study 2 examined the clinical utility of the Chinese DASS-21 in 166 patients with schizophrenia and 90 matched healthy controls. Patients had higher Depression and Anxiety but not Stress subscale scores than healthy controls. A discriminant function composed of the linear combination of 3 subscale scores correctly discriminated 69.92% of participants, which again supported the potential clinical utility of the DASS in mainland China. Taken together, findings in these studies support the cross-cultural validity of the DASS-21 in China. (PsycINFO Database Record