Dissociation of age and ability on a visual analogue of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test in children with autism

Early olfactory identification deficits have been associated with neurodevelopmental arrest of limbic-prefrontal networks. These same networks are implicated in development of autistic-spectrum disorders. We aimed to investigate olfactory identification ability in children with high functioning autism (HFA).Fifteen children with HFA (aged 5–9 years) and 15 age-, gender- and IQ-matched controls (CTL) were compared on their performance on a visual analogue of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT).The hypothesis that children with HFA would exhibit impaired olfactory identification ability was not supported. However, contrary to the relationship found in the CTLs, smell identification ability was negatively associated with age in HFA.The results suggest some disruption of normal developmental association between olfactory ability and age in HFA. The visual analogue of the UPSIT warrants further investigation to determine its validity and reliability in normal and other clinical populations.