top of page
Search

Scent and Memory - A Primitive Connection

  • Writer: Patricia Faust
    Patricia Faust
  • Sep 4, 2024
  • 4 min read


As you smell a fresh pine tree, cookies baking, bayberry or orange, do flashes of past Christmas holidays come flooding through your mind?  This very aromatic season is an easy way to describe the phenomenon of scent and memory. 

 

The process of smelling is a thing of beauty.  Smell is a chemical sense detected by sensory cells called chemoreceptors in the nose that detect smell and pass on electrical impulses to the brain.  The brain then interprets patterns in electrical activity as specific odors and olfactory sensation becomes perception – we recognize this as smell.  The only other chemical system that can quickly identify, make sense of, and memorize new molecules is the immune system (Sarah Dowdy, How Stuff Works).

 

Where is this amazing olfactory system located?  It is positioned in each of the two nasal cavities below and between the eyes, containing approximately fifty million primary sensory receptor cells.  The olfactory sense can distinguish an almost infinite number of chemical compounds at very low concentrations and is over 10,000 times more sensitive than the sense of taste.  Scents stimulate multiple areas and systems in the brain, influence the endocrine system, modulate immunological responses, and affect emotional states through their impact on the limbic system (Fragrance and Consciousness, Oct. 29, 2010).

 

So how does scent influence memory?  Smell, more than any other sense, is intimately linked to parts of the brain that process emotion and associative learning.  The olfactory bulb is part of the brain.  It is part of the limbic system – a system that includes the hippocampus and amygdala, structures that are critical to our behavior, mood, and memory.  The olfactory sense has a direct connection to the amygdala – the emotional center of our brain.  And, just as important, is the relationship between the olfactory and the hippocampus, the center for new learning and memory. The close interaction of scent with the learning and memory centers of the brain may explain why a scent might get tied to a vivid memory.

 

“Interestingly, visual and auditory (sound), and tactile (touch) information do not pass through these brain areas.  This may be why olfaction, more than any other sense, is so successful at triggering emotions and memories.” (Mercola.com, August 6, 2015)


The scent makes its way through the areas of the hippocampus and amygdala before you have any awareness of the scent itself.  Because your body has far more receptors for scent (at least 1,000) than it does for other senses like sight (four) and touch (at least four) and travels through the hippocampus and amygdala, odor-cued memories are more poignant and different from other memories.   Researcher Maria Larsson of Stockholm University concentrated on whether smell does release emotional memories.  Autobiographical memory peaks between the ages of 15 and 30.  Larsson stated “For visual and verbal cues, people’s memories came from their teens and 20s, as expected.  But for smells, the peak was around age 5.  It was clear that when they recollected a specific memory, that memory was localized to the childhood period.  The memories were also more emotional and more vivid than memories brought up by visual and verbal cues.”

 

It is this physiological pathway that sets olfaction separate from the other senses:  For every sense, the message travels first to the brain stem and the thalamus before going out to the primary sensory areas.  “Olfaction is completely differently wired,” says Johan Lundsrtom, an APS Fellow at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. First, odor molecules bind to receptors in the nose -> signals for the receptors travel up to the olfactory bulb -> some signals go to the primary olfactory cortex and onto higher-order parts of the brain.  But there are also connections from the olfactory bulb directly to the amygdala -> an area relevant to emotions -> and the hippocampus -> which is involved in memory.

 

Separate research also revealed that both young and old adult were able to recall more than twice as many memories when they are associated with an odor.  This suggests that “evidence for substantial olfactory cuing that is remarkably intact in old age.” (mercola.com) I went back to graduate school when I was fifty years old.  If you know me – you know this story.  I am also a certified clinical aromatherapist and I had to call on that skill to help get me through the academic challenges I faced.  I used olfactory cuing to prepare for examinations.  I had a scent that I only smelled when I was studying.  It had to be different from an everyday scent - like coffee.  On exam day, I brought my little bottle of essential oils with me.  As was stated, I could recall twice as many memories with the scent – which was great for me.  My classmates (half my age) saw what I was doing, and they asked for their study scent.  As we took exams as a group, you could see many people around the table sniffing their bottles of essential oils!  Luckily our professor was all about this and so we excelled in our studies with the help of olfactory cuing.

 

To summarize:  we recall older memories when we smell an ambient scent that triggered that memory.  And we can embed more memories when we purposely study with a scent.  From the past to the present – scent plays a major role in memory.

 

 

References:

 

Crow, D. (October 29, 2010). Fragrance and consciousness.  Retrieved March 29, 2016 from http://www.paraveda.org/readings/fragrances-and-consciousness/

 

Dowdey, S. How smell works.  Retrieved November 28, 2016 from http://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/human-nature/perception/smell.htm

 

Fields, H. (April 12, 2012). Fragrant flashbacks. Retrieved March 30, 2016 from http://psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2012/april-12/fragrant-flashbacks.html

 

Holohan, M. (July 19, 2012). Smells like nostalgia: Why do scents bring back memories?  Retrieved March 30, 2016 from http://www.nbcbews.com/pages/print

 

Dr. Mercola. (August 5, 2016) Why smells can trigger strong memories. Retrieved November 28, 2016 from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/08/06/smells-trigger-memories.aspx

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Comments

images.jpg

​

March was an unusual month for me.  Normally I work on articles, give presentations and generally just stay tuned to what is going on in the field of aging.  This month I “learned” a lot.  Last year I learned how to write a book.  At the time I took the course I thought it would just be a natural extension of all the writing I had done over the years.  WRONG!!  The actual writing of the book was the easy part.  Putting it together into a book was difficult for me.  The course gave me step by step lessons on constructing a book.  Then editing and formatting were just as challenging.  On June 7 last year the book was published!  It was one of the most satisfying days of my writing career. 

Naturally, when you self-publish, you do not have a publisher promoting the book and getting it in the right categories for best sales on Amazon.  That was crushing because I really didn’t know to appropriately market it.  I am a brain health person!  In December of last year, I purchased a marketing program that is based on statistics.  I am technical minded and so this approach made sense to me.  The course is almost completed.  Can’t wait to see if it improves sales!

The next step I am looking at is recording an audiobook.  This is another venture I knew nothing about.  But I am already tagged on Facebook for marketing of audio book programs.  Facebook picks up everything.  Now my husband was creative director for an advertising agency and when I told him I purchased another class – he couldn’t believe it.  “This was my business.  I know how to do recordings, why didn’t you ask me?” Well, I knew he was an expert in that business, but this audiobook needs to meet all the criteria that Amazon requires for publication.  So, he can take care of the recording part of this audiobook, and I will navigate the process of meeting Amazon’s requirements.  We worked on the book together like this. 

Then I talked with some coaching experts on the viability of starting group teaching programs.  Reading The Boomer Brain book and implementing the Brain Healthy Lifestyle have two entirely different outcomes.  This lifestyle is important to maintaining high cognitive function throughout the later years of our lives.  Look for updates as to when I will roll this program out.

My last learning endeavor was attending a two-day bootcamp for Speakers.  I am really excited about what I learned there.  That is a late this year or next year project, but it is one I am really looking forward to.

 

What Is Happening in April?

The American Society on Aging is having their annual conference in Orlando Florida April 21-24.  This is the largest multidisciplinary conference on aging and the annual conference for Members of ASA.  I have attended a number of these conferences throughout the years, and it is consequential.  Keynote speakers and special events are focused on combating ageism in our society.  Although this is a professional meeting, the attendees come from all aspects of aging services.  They have their work cut out for them this year!

April is Stress Awareness Month.  We should be aware of stress every month and understand how we can break the stress cycle.  These are stressful times, and we need to protect ourselves

Here is a positive one “April is National Volunteer Month”.  When I am working with new retirees who don’t know what to do, I talk to them about volunteering. It is important to have a purpose after you leave the workforce.  There are so many nonprofits who need help in all aspects of their organizations.  It is a perfect way to give back.

Finally – It was Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds – the oldest major league team in the nation.  Cincinnati takes that responsibility seriously.  There is always an Opening Day Parade through downtown to the Ball Park.  Huge crowds line the streets and every year there is talk of making it an official holiday.  Schools and employers look the other way when there is an empty desk.  No matter what the outcome of the game is, there is so much joy, and you can feel that energy.  I am fortunate that I get to experience that.  We all need some joy right now. 

Enjoy your April.

bottom of page