Exp Brain Res (2011) 212:305–314 DOI 10.1007/s00221-011-2729-5 123 RESEARCH ARTICLE Background sound modulates the performance of odor discrimination task Han-Seok Seo · Volker Gudziol · Antje Hähner · Thomas Hummel Received: 5 December 2010 / Accepted: 9 May 2011 / Published online: 21 May 2011  Springer-Verlag 2011 Abstract Even though we often perceive odors in the presence of various background sounds, surprisingly little is known about the eVects of background sound on odor perception. This study aimed to investigate the question whether background sound can modulate performance in an odor discrimination task. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to perform the odor discrimination task while listening to either background noise (e.g., verbal or non- verbal noise) or no additional sound (i.e., silent condition). Participants’ performance in the odor discrimination task was signiWcantly deteriorated in the presence of back- ground noise compared with in the silent condition. Rather, the detrimental eVect of verbal noise on the task perfor- mance was signiWcantly higher than that of non-verbal noise. In Experiment 2, participants were asked to conduct the odor discrimination task while listening to either back- ground music (Mozart’s sonata for two pianos in D major, K448) or no additional sound (silent condition). Back- ground music relative to silent condition did not signiW- cantly alter the task performance. In conclusion, our Wndings provide new empirical evidence that background sound modulates the performance in an odor discrimination task. Keywords Auditory–olfactory integration · Background noise · Background music · Odor discrimination task · Task performance Introduction We often smell odors while being exposed to various back- ground sounds. For instance, in a metropolitan street, peo- ple experience exhaust fumes from automobiles while hearing traYc sounds (e.g., the sound of horns or car engines). Another example is an experience of crowd party where people smell many diVerent odors (e.g., food odors, body odors, and ambient fragrances) while hearing back- ground music or listening to a conversation. Despite its high occurrence, surprisingly little is known about an audi- tory–olfactory integration. Previous studies have reported that auditory cues can inXuence on taste perception (Crisinel and Spence 2009; Woods et al. 2011) and food quality such as crispness and freshness (Vickers and Bourne 1976; Zampini and Spence 2004). For example, Woods et al. (2011) demonstrated that participants rated saltiness and sweetness as signiWcantly less intense when they ate food samples (e.g., biscuits, cracker, and cheese) in the presence of loud compared with quiet background noise. Only a few studies have addressed an association between olfactory and auditory stimuli in humans (Belkin et al. 1997; Spangenberg et al. 2005; Seo and Hummel 2011). SpeciWcally, Belkin et al. (1997) demonstrated that participants can consistently match cer- tain auditory pitches with speciWc odorants based on odor quality. Focusing on contextual perception, Spangenberg et al. (2005) showed that congruency between ambient scent and background music in a retail setting can modulate consumers’ evaluation on the retail store, its merchandise, and the store environment. SpeciWcally, consumers evalu- ated the store more favorable when they were presented with a congruent combination of ambient Christmas scent and Christmas music than when presented with an incongruent combination (i.e., ambient Christmas scent and H.-S. Seo · V. Gudziol · A. Hähner · T. Hummel (&) Smell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Dresden Medical School, Fetscherstrasse 74, 01307 Dresden, Germany e-mail: thummel@mail.zih.tu-dresden.de