Consider a correlational opponent processing or an associational reciprocal
inhibition/excitatory system as an explaination. All senses would have a main
gaussian standing wavelet filter pattern of neutrality. Any deviation from the
learned pattern can result in some interesting observations. In the case of
odor, deviation is normally experienced as a "bad" smell because the current
information is discrepant from the normal. Habituation to the new odor would
occur after a mild stroke or chemical scrambing of the reference codes and
slowly the person would learn a new "normal". If part of one of the
bi-intergration sensory tastet system is damaged or blocked the signal will be
interpreted as an increase in sweet, sour, bitter and a decrease in salty taste.
Consider the following model to understand the relationship:
Press two hands together equally in an up/down relationship with the right hand
on top under a table to simulate what happens in a correlational opponent
process. The right pushes down and the left pushes up. Now stop pushing with
the right hand and the left hand will push the right hand up but will reach
equilbrum again as the table is hit. The increase in height means sweeter,
sourer, bitter, and less salty taste. If the right hand increases its efforts
and pushes the left hand down to the floor a new equilbrum will be reached which
will be interepreted as less sweet, less sour, less bitter and more salty taste.
Real life examples: motion after effect - waterfall illusion, negative after
image, color opponent reaction - blue become yellow and red becomes green,
opponent process in drugs and addiction, pain picture at
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~peprbv/pain.html;
Roland-Mieszkowski, Marek (1994, August 8-12). DSA (Digital Speech Aid) - A New
Device to Decrease or Eliminate Stuttering. 1-st World Congress on Fluency
Disorders; Langlois, Judith H. & Roggmann, Lori A. (1990, April 20). Ordinary
is Beautiful. Science p 306(1).; Guastello, Stephen (1988). Catastrophe Modeling
of the Accident Process: Organizational Subunit Size. Psychological Bulletin
Col. 103 p246-255.; Guastello, Stephen (1984, October). Cusp & Butterfly
Catastrophe
modeling of two Opponent Process Models: Drug Addiction and Work
Performance. Behavioral Science Vol. 29 p258(4).; Craig, A.D. & Bushnell, M.C.
(1994, July 8). The Thermal Grill Illusion: Unmasking the Burn of Cold Pain.
Science v265, p252(4).;Bullock, D. & Grossberg, S. (1988). Neural Dynamics of
Planned
Arm Movements: Emergent Invariants and Speed-Accuracy Properties
During Trajectory Formation. Psychology Review Vol. 95, p49-90.; Bottini, G.,
Paulesu, E., Sterzi, R., Warburton, E., Wise, R.J.S., Vallar, G., Frackowiak,
R.S.J., & Firth, C.D. (1995, August). Modulation of conscious experience by
peripheral sensory stimuli. Nature p778(4).;
