Intranasal Chemosensory Lateralization Through the Multi-electrode Transcutaneous Electrical Nasal Bridge Stimulation

TL;DR

This study introduces a novel, non-invasive method to lateralize intranasal chemosensation by selectively stimulating trigeminal nerve branches through transcutaneous electrical stimulation, confirmed by simulations and psychophysical experiments.

Contribution

It presents the first successful lateralization technique for intranasal chemosensation using electrode shifting on the nasal bridge, avoiding nostril blocking.

Findings

Lateralization of chemosensation achieved through electrode shifting.

Electrical stimulation targets trigeminal nerve branches specifically.

Lateralization is due to nerve stimulation, not tactile skin sensation.

Abstract

Numerous studies have been conducted on display techniques for intranasal chemosensory perception. However, a limited number of studies have focused on the presentation of sensory spatial information. To artificially produce intranasal chemosensory spatial perception, we focused on a technique to induce intranasal chemosensation by transcutaneous electrical stimulation between the nasal bridge and the back of the neck. Whether this technique stimulates the trigeminal nerve or the olfactory nerve remains debatable; if this method stimulates the trigeminal nerve, the differences in the amount of stimulation to the left and right trigeminal branches would evoke lateralization of intranasal chemosensory perception. Therefore, we propose a novel method to lateralize intranasal chemosensation by selectively stimulating the left or right trigeminal nerve branches through the shifting of an electrode on the nasal bridge to the left or right. Finite element simulations reveal that electrical stimulation applied between the electrodes on the left/right nasal bridge and the back of the neck results in the construction of a high current density area on the left/right branch of the trigeminal nerve. The results of two psychophysical experiments reveal that intranasal chemosensation can be lateralized by using the proposed method. The results of our experiment also suggest that lateralization is not the result of electrically induced tactile sensation of the skin surface but rather due to the distribution of stimuli to the trigeminal nerves. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first successful lateralization of intranasal chemosensation that utilizes an easy-to-apply method without involving nostril blocking.