Although humans smell with two nostrils, we can only detect a given scent as a whole — a steaming cup of coffee or pungent skunk, for instance. But your brain might interpret things differently, a new study suggests.
The research, conducted with hospital patients with electrodes implanted in their brains, suggests that the smells flowing through each nostril are processed as two separate signals in the part of the brain that receives smell inputs. Notably, the signals are separated in time.
