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Brain processing of odorants in different stages during adolescence is not well understood. This study aimed to investigate differences in brain processing of pleasant and unpleasant odors between adolescent girls at different ages. Eleven girls aged 9–10 years and 20 girls aged 15–16 years participated in an fMRI study (1.5 T, repetition time 2.5 s) where two odorants (peach and n-butanol) were delivered passively to the participants’ nostrils. Psychophysical measurements for odor intensity, pleasantness, and familiarity were recorded. Compared to older ones, younger girls were less familiar with peach odor. Stronger brain activation of piriform cortex, amygdala, bilateral insular cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and dorsal striatum (caudate and putamen) was observed in younger vs. older girls, whereas in older girls there was no superior activation in olfactory regions as compared to younger participants. The findings demonstrating differences of brain activation patterns between girls of two age groups may reflect olfactory perception development during adolescence.

Because central nervous processing of odorous stimuli in different stages of adolescence has rarely been studied, in this preliminary fMRI investigation, 20 subjects were grouped according to age (children 9–12 years old and young adults 17–20 years old) to build two equally sized samples. Patterns of cerebral activation were compared between both groups following passive nasal stimulation with three odorants. Children mainly showed activation of olfactory cortex, namely, piriform cortex and amygdala. In young adults, enhanced activation was revealed in neocortical areas, suggesting a greater involvement of areas engaged in cognitive integration of olfactory stimuli. However, it is emphasized that additional psychological and developmental confounds should be taken into account in future studies to establish more profound results.