Currently no method has been developed for rehabilitating olfaction in anosmic patients following a traumatic brain injury. Here a method for rehabilitation is described which is based on a recent finding that the human posterior pyriform cortex generates predictive odor 'search images' in advance of an encounter with an olfactory stimulus. The search image enhances perceptual sensitivity and allows the odor it represents to be identified without input occurring from the olfactory receptors or bulbs. Furthermore, based on the finding here that anosmics with a traumatic brain injury often have normal trigeminal and gustatory function, it is proposed that normality in these chemosensory systems may indicate that key cortical regions including the posterior pyriform cortex are intact in anosmics and capable of processing olfactory information. In addition, the results of chemosensory tests of the olfactory, gustatory and intranasal trigeminal systems of 18 patients with a traumatic brain injury are given that identify which patients would most likely benefit from the rehabilitation procedure.

中文翻译：

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外伤性脑损伤期间的化学感觉损失表明，失眠的康复的主要途径。

目前，尚未开发出在颅脑外伤后恢复失眠患者嗅觉的方法。在此描述一种用于康复的方法，该方法基于最近的发现，即在与嗅觉刺激相遇之前，人类后梨形的大脑皮层会产生预测性的气味“搜索图像”。搜索图像增强了感知灵敏度，并允许识别其代表的气味，而不会产生来自嗅觉感受器或球茎的输入。此外，基于此处的发现，具有颅脑外伤的厌氧症通常具有正常的三叉神经和味觉功能，建议这些化学感觉系统的正常性可能表明，包括后梨状皮层在内的关键皮质区域在厌氧症中是完整的并且能够处理嗅觉信息。