A recovering stroke patient complained about strange smells in his room, but no cause could be found. The doctor diagnosed this as phantosmia, or olfactory hallucination, and said it was likely due to stroke-related damage to which tissue?

Question

A.  central nervous system
B.  olfactory receptors
C.  peripheral nervous system
D.  nodes of Ranvier

Clarify Question
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
What type of thinking is required?

Gather Content
What do you already know about olfaction? What other information is related to the question?

Choose Answer
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?

Reflect on Process
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
 

Answer 1

A.  central nervous system

Clarify Question
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
        · This question is asking about the tissue that is impacted by a stroke.
What type of thinking is required?
        · Apply level:
            o You are being asked to take what you already know and use, or apply, it to the effects of a stroke.

Gather Content
What do you already know about olfaction? What other information is related to the question?
        · Olfaction, or the sense of smell, is a component of the nervous system.
        · Dendrites in the nasal mucosa receive signals in the form of molecules.
        · Once a molecule binds with a receptor on a dendrite, a signal is sent to the central nervous system so the molecule can be recognized.

Choose Answer
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?
        · Damage to olfactory receptors or to peripheral nerves would likely result in lack of olfaction, not abnormal olfaction.
        · Since nodes of Ranvier are involved in passing signals along, if they were damaged, it is most likely that olfaction would not occur.
        · A stroke is damage to the brain caused by loss of blood flow.
        · The recognition of a scent occurs in the brain, so damage to the brain could alter the perception of smell.

Reflect on Process
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
        · Apply level:
            o Answering this question correctly depended on your ability to use olfaction in a new situation. If you got an incorrect answer, did you remember that scents are received in the nose, but are perceived in the brain? Did you have trouble extending olfaction to determine the correct answer?