A surgery that clears nasal blockages also rewires the brain's smell networks.

Losing your sense of smell after COVID-19 can drag on for months, and scientists are still figuring out what goes wrong in the nose and brain. Researchers tested a nose surgery called functional septorhinoplasty to fix this. The surgery reshapes nasal passages to let air carry scents directly to smell-detecting tissue high inside the nose. Scientists scanned patients' brains during smell tasks before the operation and six months after to see how their brain circuits adapted. They discovered that the surgery sparked real changes in brain activity, known as functional plasticity. Brain regions that handle complex scent processing, including parts of the frontal lobe and the insula, shifted how they reacted to smells. Improved airflow directly matched with boosted activity in several frontal brain areas. Overall, clearing physical airflow through the nose helps restore sensory input, which then prompts higher-order brain networks to rewire and help recover smell.

Why it matters

Millions of people who lost their sense of smell after COVID-19 have few effective treatments. This study shows that a surgical procedure to improve airflow to the nose not only helps patients smell again but also triggers measurable changes in brain activity. It suggests the brain can adapt when the physical blockage is removed, opening the door to targeted therapies.

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