Because central nervous processing of odorous stimuli in different stages of adolescence has rarely been studied, in this preliminary fMRI investigation, 20 subjects were grouped according to age (children 9-12 years old and young adults 17-20 years old) to build two equally sized samples. Patterns of cerebral activation were compared between both groups following passive nasal stimulation with three odorants. Children mainly showed activation of olfactory cortex, namely, piriform cortex and amygdala. In young adults, enhanced activation was revealed in neocortical areas, suggesting a greater involvement of areas engaged in cognitive integration of olfactory stimuli. However, it is emphasized that additional psychological and developmental confounds should be taken into account in future studies to establish more profound results.