认知与发展心理学研究室知识库

新冠病毒出现以来，流行毒株几经变异，症状表现多样，除呼吸系统外，也累及神经系统，嗅觉减退是新冠感染后的主要神经症状。一些长新冠患者的嗅觉持续异常，亟待有效的干预手段。本文比对了新冠原始毒株和Omicron毒株感染后患者的嗅觉和认知功能的康复模式，并探讨了促进嗅觉训练效果泛化的手段。

研究一和研究二共计招募了近1300名受试者，含原始毒株感染者(研究一)、Omicron毒株感染者(研究二)和未感染对照，系统评估了他们的化学感觉功能、认知表现和抑郁状态。整体而言，新冠感染后的数月内，基本化学感觉功能逐步恢复，相较原始毒株感染者，omicron感染者恢复更快。然而，两类毒株都造成了独立于抑郁状态的认知功能损伤，且认知损伤没有表现出随时间推移的恢复。

研究三采用有反馈的知觉学习范式，在健康成人受试者的一侧鼻腔进行嗅觉分辨训练，训练材料为手性气味分子或不同配比的气味混合物，考察了训练效果的特异性/迁移性和持续性。结果发现，手性分子气味对的训练效果严格限制在训练鼻腔，且不迁移到与训练气味对结构不相似的手性气味分子，而对混合物的嗅觉分辨学习则可以完全迁移到未训练鼻腔并部分迁移到未训练的气味混合物。不论采用哪种训练材料，学习效果在训练结束两周后仍然保持。

嗅觉功能与认知和情绪密切相关，被视作脑功能完好性的指标。对嗅觉损伤和嗅觉训练的探讨有望为维护和促进脑功能提供独特视角。

Since the emergence of SARS一CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID一19, various variants have surfaced, each leading to a diverse array of symptoms. Notably, beyond affecting the respiratory system, the virus also impacts the nervous system, with olfactory loss being a primary neurological symptom of COVID一19. A significant number of long COVID patients continue to experience persistent olfactory loss and urgently require effective interventions. This thesis aims to compare the recovery patterns of olfactory and cognitive functions in patients infected with the original and Omicron strains of the virus. It also seeks to explore methods to enhance the effectiveness of olfactory training.

In Study1 and Study 2, we recruited nearly 1,300 participants, including individuals infected with the original strain (Study 1), those infected with the Omicron strain (Study 2), and uninfected controls. We systematically assessed their chemosensory functions, cognitive performances, and depressive states. Overall, basic chemosensory functions gradually recovered within months post-infection. Individuals infected with the Omicron variant recovered faster than those infected with the original strain. However, both strains resulted in cognitive impairments that were independent of depressive state, and these impairments showed no sign of recovery over time.

In Study3, we recruited healthy adults and trained them for odor discrimination in one of their two nostrils while providing feedback. The training materials consisted of pairs of odor enantiomers or binary odor mixtures in varying ratios. We examined the specificity/transfer and persistence of learning. The results indicated that discrimination learning was strictly confined to the trained nostril in those trained with odor enantiomers and did not transfer to odor enantiomers that were structurally unrelated to the trained pair. However, in those trained with odor mixtures, learning completely transferred to the untrained nostril and also partially generalized to untrained odor mixtures. In both cases, learning effects persisted for at least two weeks post-training.

Olfactory function is closely linked with cognition and emotion and is often considered an indicator of brain function integrity. Examining olfactory dysfunction and training could provide unique insights into strategies for maintaining and enhancing brain health.