# Spatiotemporal Mechanisms of Olfactory Processing in the Human Brain

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2020 · $197,357

## Abstract

ABSTRACT (Administrative Supplement)
COVID-19 is a viral disease (SARS-CoV-2) that was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on
March 11, 2020. The disease has negatively impacted the health of millions of people around the world and is
taking a toll on the global economy. The disease has been particularly difficult to contain as it is highly
contagious, has a long incubation time (2-14 days) and many carriers of the virus are asymptomatic [1-2].
Initial reports of the disease showed that the symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, fatigue, body aches and
shortness of breath [3-4]. However, more recent reports have shown that many COVID-19 patients also lose
their ability to smell [5]. Furthermore, reports show that the patients who experience smell loss may otherwise
be asymptomatic suggesting that smell loss could potentially be an early indicator of COVID-19 in a subset of
the population [5]. These recent findings highlight the importance of studying the relationship between smell
loss and COVID-19 to better understand the mechanisms and symptoms of the disorder as well as its potential
long term effects. The study proposed here will investigate: 1) the extent to which COVID-19 patients develop
smell loss (anosmia); and 2) whether the early presence of anosmia can be used to predict the severity of
disease. To invesitgate this urgent question, we will use the well-established 8-item “Brief” University of
Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (“B-SIT”) [6-9] to assess the olfactory abilities in patients with suspected
COVID-19 infection who present to the COVID-19 external testing sites affiliated with the University of
Pennsylvania.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10150357
- **Project number:** 3R01DC018075-01A1S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Jay A Gottfried
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $197,357
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-05-01 → 2021-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10150357

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10150357, Spatiotemporal Mechanisms of Olfactory Processing in the Human Brain (3R01DC018075-01A1S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10150357. Licensed CC0.

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