News Neuroscience

Your brain can perceive subtle odor changes in a single sniff

Odors separated by as little as 60 milliseconds were discernible

a nose with two odors going in

Humans can perceive odor changes in as little 60 milliseconds, roughly similar to the time it takes the brain to perceive changes in color.

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By Nora Bradford

Human sniffs last between one and three seconds. During that time, chemicals enter the nose and allow us to perceive the smells around us. But whether humans can perceive odor changes shorter than the length of one sniff has been an open question.