Analysis of the Dynamics of the Olfactory Evoked EEG Responses Generated by the Brain and E-Nose under Natural and Synthetic Odorant Stimulations

Aroma and taste have a disproportionately strong effect on the human brain in comparison to the other senses, however this effect is mostly unappreciated. The capacity for olfaction to perceive, identify, and distinguish a vast number of chemicals present in the air is the consequence of complicated interactions between receptors, smell molecules, and the brain. The purpose of this article is to investigate and comprehend those complex interactions through the analysis of EEG signals recorded in response to a variety of natural and synthetic odorants administered to the mammalian olfactory system. Additionally, a prototype of a portable electronic nose (E-nose) was built, which consists of a sensor array and an Arduino microcontroller running an implementation of Freeman's KIII olfactory model. The sensor array's output is sent to the microcontroller, which generates EEG signals specific to the odorant stimuli applied. The EEG signal generated by the E-nose is then compared to EEG signals gathered from humans in terms of multiscale entropy and fractal dimension, highlighting the E-nose model's efficiency.