Researchers successfully induced distinct smell sensations by stimulating the olfactory bulb using focused ultrasound through the skull. Using a 300 kHz frequency probe positioned on the forehead, they reliably produced four different scents (campfire burn, fresh air, garbage, and a general sensation) in two subjects, validated through blind trials. The technique achieved surprising resolution despite the large focal spot size, suggesting potential for high-bandwidth brain-computer interfaces. The team proposes that the olfactory system's 400 receptor types could serve as a direct channel for writing information into the brain, potentially enabling semantic communication through smell patterns.
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