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Psychopaths have poor sense of smell

A male nose, up close

The finding could be useful for identifying psychopaths, who are famously manipulative in the face of questioning (Source: Stacey Newman /iStockphoto)

Nasal secrets Psychopaths have a remarkably poor sense of smell, according to an Australian study.

Researchers at Macquarie University in Sydney 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.


Mehmet Mahmut and Richard Stevenson of the Department of Psychology at trialled the olfactory skills of 79 individuals, aged 19 to 21, who had been diagnosed as non-criminal psychopaths and lived in the community.







Odour molecules bind to specific nerve cells in the base of the nose, which then send signals via the lateral olfactory tract to the primary olfactory cortex.

From there, the signals go to OFC via a brain organ called the mediodorsal nucleus, located in the thalamus.

The study makes clear that a poor sense of smell does not by itself mean that someone is a psychopath. Olfactory dysfunction can also occur in schizophrenia, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, it notes.

Tags: neuroscience, psychology