Detecting malingerers by means of response-sequence analysis.

The feigning of sensory loss (malingering) poses a challenge for psychophysicists. To uncover malingerers by means of psychophysical testing, we combined measures of response-sequence randomness with the maximum-likelihood adaptive-staircase procedure used to measure sensory detection thresholds. The two-alternative, forced-choice maximum-likelihood adaptive-staircase procedure calculates an estimate of the threshold after each trial and also recommends the stimulus concentration for the next trial.

Anosmia after intranasal zinc gluconate use.

Background: Zinc is an essential mineral. Beneficial zinc absorption takes place via enteral, parenteral, or cutaneous routes. However, direct application to the olfactory epithelium has been reported to cause loss of smell.