The Implications of Scents in Comparison with COVID-19

            Smells are a part of everyday life. When you walk past a bakery and smell the freshly baked bread, maybe it takes your memories back to your family and your childhood. When you open your leftovers and notice an odd odor, it alerts you that the food may make you sick. Sense of smell also translates into the laboratory. For example, if there is an almond scent, it may indicate the presence of cyanide gas. Another remarkable aspect of smell is how it impacts memory. The research study of Laura Shanahan and Jay Gottfried aimed to accomplish this.

Shanahan and Gottfried’s study illustrated the importance of olfactory smells and memory consolidation. The researchers argued that sleep plays an active role in supporting memory consolidation when paired with a scent that was introduced during the memory task. The olfactory stimulus is critical for reactivating memories when presented during sleep. In this study, the primary odor used was a rose odor. The subjects were given a task similar to the game Memory with either no odor or the rose odor. Next, they went to sleep and were presented again with either no odor or the rose odor. The results indicated that participants performed better when they were exposed to the rose odor during sleep. Therefore, odors can enhance the consolidation of associated declarative memories during sleep without the sleeping subject’s being aware.

            After learning about the importance of scents during tasks and sleep, I was curious about the implications that people have when their sense of smell was lost due to the prolonged effects of COVID-19. Not only would it make it difficult for them to make new memories, but I was curious as to the social impacts that COVID would have on people. The article “Some Covid Survivors Haunted by Loss of Smell and Taste” by Roni Rabin evaluated the social effects of losing the sense of smell on people after COVID. The paper noted several personal statements, and one that stood out to me was that from an individual who could recreate restaurant dishes just by smell, but after covid, she even lost the ability to recreate the dishes. This individual had a heightened sense of smell (that I could not even come close to) before she was diagnosed with COVID. Consequently, she lost her passion for food in general. The article stated that she primarily lives off “soups and shakes” due to her being repulsed by normal foods (Rabin). The paper also stated that the lack of smell, or anosmia, increased the risk of developing mental health problems, including depression and anxiety. Specialists were perplexed that anosmia demonstrated a connection to social withdrawal (similar to what is expected for schizophrenia patients). Interestingly enough, it has been reported that people who have recovered from COVID are often haunted by phantom odors that are unpleasant. In addition to the information provided in the article, there are still other implications of anosmia in COVID survivors.

            I agree with Rabin’s stance that the sense of smell can have varying impacts unrelated to memory. The information mentioned in the article and that mentioned in Shanahan and Gottfried’s study confirms the knowledge that certain smells have the ability to trigger a memory. In addition, Rabin’s personal statements discussed how the sense of smell affects individuals' mental health and nutrition. Those affected by anosmia no longer enjoy simple daily activities like eating. This can lead to the formation of eating disorders and malnourishment. While I understood the primary factors of anosmia, I was unaware of the exact implications the lack of smell had on people and how prevalent this issue is especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rabin, Roni Caryn. “Some Covid Survivors Haunted by Loss of Smell and Taste.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 Jan. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/01/02/health/coronavirus-smell-taste.html?searchResultPosition=1.

Shanahan, Laura K., and Jay A. Gottfried. “Scents and Reminiscence: Olfactory Influences on Memory Consolidation in the Sleeping Human Brain.” Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory Consolidation, 2017, pp. 335–346., doi:10.1007/978-3-319-45066-7_20.

 

  

The Spectrum of Face-Sensitivity

     Face processing and recognition has been a unique topic to circulate the realm of neuroscience. Human beings are capable of recognizing faces and the significance of faces that are more familiar to us compared to everyday strangers we encounter. In addition, despite inanimate objects forming face like features, humans are still able to have the capability to tell between face-like and non-face like stimuli. Conte and colleagues explore the neurological aspect of face recognition between face like and non-face like stimuli and capture those responses within 1 year old infants. To further explore this concept, McKone and colleagues qualitatively explore the possibility of a critical period that is significant when recognizing faces of other races and how that is influential to society.

In “Face-sensitive brain responses in the first year of life”, Conte and colleagues analyzed neural responses specific to face-processing in young infants between 4.5 and 12 months of age. They recorded the infants’ EEG, ERP, and ECG heart rate recordings as they were shown pictures of faces and non-face like objects. Data from the P1, N290, P400, and Nc responses were recorded, and regions of the brain were localized specific to these face-processing activities. Results revealed that responses from the P1, N290, P400, and Nc were greater to faces than non-face like objects, and the P1, N290, P400 and Nc were localized in the lingual gyrus and anterior temporal pole, the temporal-parietal and temporal-occipital electrode, posterior cingulate areas, and the parahippocampal gyrus, respectively.

            Considering studies on infants possess undefined areas of understanding, Conte and colleagues highlight significant findings related to the specific mechanisms of face-processing at younger ages. What I found very interesting about this study is that their participants were from primarily Caucasian households and middle-class socioeconomic status. Regarding general scientific research, it is important to recognize bias and representation within scientific literature, so I became curious if brain activity specific to face-sensitivity would differ in infants of various racial and cultural heritage and socioeconomic status.

            In “A critical period for faces: Other-race face recognition is improved by childhood but not adult social contact”, McKone and colleagues perform a cross cultural study on face processing in Asian and Caucasian individuals at different ages who have either been Western-raised or born and raised in Australia. Individuals were shown faces strictly Asian, Caucasian, or some percentage mixed and completed questionnaires related to when they were exposed to such races at different ages of development, and their personal experience with other races growing up. McKone and colleagues found that face recognition abilities are more likely to change at a younger age compared to the age of adulthood. This study also brings in discussion of the experience of exposing children to other races at a younger age compared to when they are much older. The amount of exposure a child has to other races can have a significant influence on their face recognition and processing development that can also play a role in social biases and the underlying encouragement of insider and outsider groups.

            While McKone and colleagues study older participants in face recognition and processing, early development and exposure to different aspects related to faces have a very influential role on individual’s experience and even interpersonal interactions in society. It is intriguing to understand the neurological aspects of this unique experience at such an early age, and how that can also be influenced through cross cultural exposure within our environment. Not only can early findings like these create more understanding, but the more diverse inclusivity of these studies promotes an overall comprehension to our multicultural experience.

 

References

Conte, S., Richards, J. E., Guy, M. W., Xie, W., Roberts, J. E. (2020) Face-sensitive brain responses in the first year of life. Neuro Image 211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116602

McKone et. al. (2019) A critical period for faces: Other-race face recognition is improved by childhood but not adult social contact. Scientific Reports. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-49202-0

The (Not So Friendly) Little Red Friend: Dysmenorrhea Research as Socially and Medically Significant

 

Image Credit: Flo 

As an individual who menstruates, I have seen throughout my own post-menarche life the stigma that not only surrounds periods but vaginal health at large.  I have left school early because my period pain would make me throw up.  I missed college lectures because Aunt Flo decided to come every other week as opposed to once a month, along with a wave of depression and physical pain that made sitting in a classroom an impossible task.  I have sat in bathroom stalls balling my eyes out, hoping the Advil and Pamprin cocktail would stay down long enough to kick in.  The thing about period pain is that it is so quickly written off as a natural consequence of menstruation: on one side it is taboo to talk about periods in and of themselves, and on the flip it is shameful to admit the extent of the pain because perceptions of pain tolerance delegitimize the pain experienced and the person in proximity to femininity.  Period pain becomes a scale for reinforcing gender norms, such as the idea that femininity is indicative of hyperemotionality, weakness, vulnerability.  All of these traits are viewed in society, in its praise of patriarchal values and toxic masculinity, as yet another reason to place women as the subordinate.  Admitting that period pain affects daily life, then, ostracizes the individual from what society views as acceptable, and places the blame on the individual rather than the social constructs that inhibit their ability to seek medical guidance.  I ended up getting birth control that stopped my menstruation altogether, but not everyone has access to contraceptives, nor is it a viable option for some menstruating individuals that have underlying medical conditions contraindicating birth control use.  Therefore, it is crucial that research about period pain, specifically dysmenorrhea, is performed not only to help menstruating individuals that struggle with this symptomatology, but to break social stigmas that surround period and vaginal health.

In order to understand dysmenorrhea outside the social perceptions of pain tolerance as a negative consequence inherently tied to femininity, the first thing that has to be understood that there is a difference between standard period pain and dysmenorrhea.  Dysmenorrhea has differential manifestations: primary dysmenorrhea describes the recurrent pain associated with menstruation cycles without cause from other diseases, while secondary dysmenorrhea results directly from disorders or infections of the reproductive organs, namely endometriosis, adenomyosis, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), or fibroids  (Cleveland Clinic 2020).  Additionally, dysmenorrhea is estimated to impair the quality of life for a third of menstruating individuals (Hellman et al 1); however, due to the stigma surrounding periods, this may be a more conservative statistic than what is actually reflected in the population.  What becomes important to reflect upon, then, is how younger women, specifically teenagers, become implicated in the side effects of dysmenorrhea, which not only affects their capacity for success in educational settings but sports, social life, and career paths immediately and later on in life.  Periods should not be a sentence to a debilitating lifestyle, and part of the solution requires early intervention.  A confounding issue, however, is the difficulty surrounding clinical diagnosis and treatment, especially early on.  Though nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, can serve as a first line of defense against dysmenorrhea, hormone treatments, as achieved with contraceptives, tend to be much more effective (Klass 2020).  Yet birth control options are much more difficult to obtain for menstruating individuals with limited or nonexistent health insurance coverage.  Especially for teenagers who need parental consent to achieve such a prescription, the social implications of birth control in relation to sexual activity only dampen access to contraceptives further (Klass 2020).  Underlying structural issues, such as endometriosis, also require much more invasive methods of diagnosis before adequate treatments can be explored.  Specifically, laparoscopy and surgical excision of problematic tissue is not only an invasive, last resort option, but is expensive and scary, especially for adolescents who are groomed by society to silence and belittle period problems and do not yet have the cumulative or comparable experience to challenge these norms (Klass 2020).

Between the pervasiveness of period stigmas and the social and physical implications of seeking dysmenorrhea treatment, it is easy to become overwhelmed and disheartened; however, period pain and dysmenorrhea are not lost causes.  First, it is important to recognize the symbolic power in simply opening conversations about menstrual and vaginal health.  By writing articles, conducting research, or conversing with family, friends, and healthcare providers openly about the struggles associated with menstruation, society can begin moving towards destigmatization of periods and vaginal health, thereby opening even more avenues of discourse and, ultimately, more effective treatment plans.  Second, it is imperative to recognize the bodies of medical research being actively conducted regarding dysmenorrhea, which seems to be growing as of late.  In 2016, one study was able to connect somatic symptoms, specifically psychological, physiological, and neurological factors, to the development of chronic pelvic pain in dysmenorrhea patients, marking somatic symptomatology as a feasible and clinically visible method for early prevention and intervention strategies  (Polnaszek et al 2016).  Last year, another study established dysmenorrhea as having the strongest correlation to provoked bladder pain hypersensitivity, likewise indicating increased external and pelvic mechanical pain sensitivities (Hellman et al 2020).  Though previous systematic reviews also concluded the connections between dysmenorrhea and mechanical, thermal, and visceral hypersensitivity, this study uniquely elucidated the need for visceral pain configurations in future studies, treatments, and diagnosis mechanisms concerning vaginal health (Hellman et al 2020). Even as recent as this year, a study investigating multisensory hypersensitivity (MSH) in patients with comorbid bladder and menstrual pain sensitivity found “brain-behavior relationships between cortical excitation and visual discomfort were moderated by visceral and somatic sensitivity,” suggesting other chronic pain management treatments be explored in patients at risk for MSH (Kmiecik et al 2021).  In short, though there is a long road ahead in the destigmatization, research, and treatment of dysmenorrhea and other menstruation related problems, the growing body of work on the subject helps ensure menstruating individuals that their pain, physical and mental, is valid, and they are not alone in their struggles.

References: 

Dysmenorrhea (2020, November 20). In Cleveland Clinic . Retrieved from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4148-dysmenorrhea

Hellman, K. M., Roth, G. E., Dillane, K. E., Garrison, E. F., Oladosu, F. A., Clauw, D. J., & Tu, F. F. (2020). Dysmenorrhea subtypes exhibit differential quantitative sensory assessment profiles. PAIN, 1-10. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001826

Klass, P. M. (2020, February 3). Helping teenagers with menstrual pain. In The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/03/well/family/teenagers-menstrual-pain-cramps-treatment.html

Kmiecik, M. J., Tu, F. F., Silton, R. L., Dillane, K. E., Roth, G. E., Steven E. Harte, S. E., Hellman, K. M. (in press). Cortical mechanisms of visual hypersensitivity in women at risk for chronic pelvic pain. medRxiv. doi:https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.12.03.20242032

Polnaszek, K. L. (2016). Cortical and psychological mechanisms of visceral pain. Master's Theses, Loyola University Chicago. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/3352

Triggers in PTSD: The "Dark Side" of Olfactory Motivated Memory Consolidation

Within recent neuroscience literature, the olfactory system is implicated in more than just scent perception. The olfactory system is linked to not only to food selection and reproduction, but also largely impacting memory formation and retention. Such breakthroughs not only have impact within the field of psychology and neuroscience, but scents are utilized in the food industry, fashion industry, as well as in many other industries such as theme parks. With scent holding such provoking power, it has been linked to slow wave sleep with scents inducing memory consolidation in TMR studies (Shanahan and Gottfried, 2018). Especially for students, memory consolidation is seen as a positive experience to help yield success for the individual. However, what happens when this system is impacted, causing consolidation of painful memories for the individual? Researchers Wilkerson (2018) looked at the impact of odorants with stress consolidation in veterans with PTSD. In this blog, the role of the olfactory system will be examined in memory consolidation during sleep and in posttraumatic stress disorder.

In “Paradoxical olfactory function in combat veterans: The role of PTSD and odor factors,” Wilkerson et al. (2018) examined the role of the olfaction system in triggering PTSD and other trauma disorders. The research design included the subjects (veterans with PTSD and veterans without PTSD) to be exposed to 4 different classes of scent stimuli: trauma-relating “burning” scent (burning rubber), non-trauma-related pleasant (lavender), non-trauma-related burning (cigarette smoke), and odorless control (propylene glycol). The researchers hypothesized that specifically with burning odor stimuli, this would elicit changes in skin conductance level (SCL) and heart rate (HR) in veterans with PTSD as opposed to other trauma disorders or healthy, post deployed veterans. The researchers found that veterans with PTSD were more sensitive to the burning odor stimuli than the other groups, with significantly larger physiological responses in SCL and HR. The control group of veterans had more neutral responses to such stimuli. The researchers interpreted two possible outcomes from these findings. Either these odor sensitivities are premorbid and genetic, indicating a risk factor for PTSD induced by experiencing war, or that odor-elicited PTSD symptoms developed after the olfactory-related trauma and memory formation.

Overall, the study conducted by Wilkerson et al. (2018) reveal the consequences of a robust memory formation by olfactory stimuli. Their research reveals a need to help understand odor avoidance/numbing to cope with intensifying odor sensitivity to PTSD triggers. Interestingly enough, TMR research recorded by Shanahan and Gottfried (2018) could potential reveal more of the underlying mechanisms seen in olfactory-elicited PTSD symptoms. A theory could be the robust memories that influence PTSD in veterans can be due to the strong olfactory stimuli they are exposed to when sleeping near the battlefield. TMR could further offer the extent the olfactory system influences PTSD, and if there are any other therapeutic methods to decrease their severity.

Shanahan L & Gottfried J (2017). Scents & reminiscence: Olfactory influences on memory consolidation in the sleeping human brain. In N Axmacher & B Rasch (Eds.), Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory Consolidation (pg. 335-346), Springer.

Wilkerson AK, Uhde TW, Leslie K, et al. Paradoxical olfactory function in combat veterans: The role of PTSD and odor factors. Mil Psychol. 2018;30(2):120-130. doi:10.1080/08995605.2018.1425063

 Emotional Reactivity and Daily Life

 

Our emotions play a large role in our daily lives. When we see something we don’t like, it affects our mood and changes outlook on things. When we see something we do like, we get this positive sensation within us that we use to our advantage. Our emotional reactivity to stimuli can be affected by things that occur within our daily lifestyle as well as within us psychologically.

 

In the study, “Abnormal emotional reactivity in depression: Contrasting theoretical models using neurophysiological data”, Kalylin E. Hill and colleagues attempted to view the correlation between negatively-valanced stimuli in those that are diagnosed with depression. This was done by recording event related potentials (ERPs) in the brain while completing a passive viewing emotional task. Before the emotional task, participants had to complete a depression anxiety stress scale (DASS-21) which is a 21-item Likert self-reporting scale that “captures symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress over the past week with 7 items per subscale” (Hill 2019).  Conclusions from the study showed that there was a reduced emotional activity in those diagnosed with depression.

 

In the study “Negative emotional reactivity moderates the relations between family cohesion and internalizing and externalizing symptoms in adolescence” Jill A. Rabinowitz and colleagues sought out to view the relationship between a youth’s negative emotional reactivity and family cohesion. Family cohesion is defined as the emotional bonding that family members share between one another. Results from the study indicated that adolescents that had a higher negative emotional reactivity, had lower family cohesion causing greater internalizing and externalizing symptoms. 

 

Looking at both studies, participants who had a negative emotional reactivity were correlated with other aspects of their life also being affected negatively. In the study by Hill, there were theoretical models of aberrant emotional experience in those affected by depression had been shown before, but it was unaware if these models exclusively applied to depression, or if other general negative effects such as anxiety may also play a role in this.  In addition to this, their reduced emotional reactivity was seen to be a direct result of their depression. Demonstrating how suffering from this disorder affects functioning in daily life. In the Rabinowitz study, individuals who had negative emotional reactivity had a lower family cohesion. Meaning that their negative emotional reactivity also played a role in how they interact with others in their daily life. This is beneficial to know since moving forward we are able to see how emotional reactivity can be influenced by a multitude of factors including mental illness and personal relationships, and this may allow us to adapt mechanisms that allow us to reform this way of thinking. 

Sleep and Memory: How to Improve Your Study Habits

According to the University of Georgia, most college students sleep an average of 6 to 6.9 hours per night despite the recommended 7 to 8 hours. Getting an adequate amount of sleep is important because it restores energy, strengthens the immune system, and improves mood and performance (University of Georgia, 2021). Sleep is also essential to memory. According to Scott Cairney, a psychologist at England’s University of York, “an active process takes place in sleep that stabilizes and transforms memories, making them more resistant to decay. This consolidation process is also important for learning new information, paving the way for new learning the next day,” (Sukel, 2019). Because sleep is when consolidation takes place, getting an adequate amount of sleep is important. 

Because memorization comprises a large aspect of education, it is crucial that students acquire enough sleep to improve their learning. Without an adequate amount of sleep, it’s unlikely that students will be successful or effective for actually learning and memorizing material. In the article “Contextual Priming of Word Meanings is Stabilized Over Sleep,” Cairney et al. explores the role of consolidation in regards to semantic memory and how it applies to the learning of language. Using targeted memory reactivation (TMR), Cairney and his team were able to demonstrate that, when pairing a picture and word pair with a unique tone and playing that tone whilst sleeping, participants were more likely to remember the picture and word pair in comparison to those who heard the tone while awake (Cairney et al., 2019).  This study indicates that sleep is overall beneficial to memory, a fact that is important to keep in mind considering the average college student does not get enough sleep.

TMR can be utilized using other senses as well. Dr. Laura Shanahan and Dr. Jay  Gottfriend explore ways in which consolidation can be strengthened during sleep; while this  can be helpful for any group, college students will benefit especially in regards to studying and academic performance. In "Scents and Reminiscence: Olfactory Influences on Memory Consolidation in the Sleeping Human Brain," Shanahan and Gottfried explore the current literature associated with the role of memory consolidation during sleep by using TMR and olfactory stimuli. Prior findings suggest that pairing odors to tasks can improve the consolidation of associated declarative memories during sleep through TMR through both memory tests and fMRI results. From a 2007 study on olfactory TMR, pairing a rose scent with a visuospatial task and then using that rose scent again while the participants slept improved participants' performance on the task later on (Shanahan & Gottfried, 2017). Olfaction has a supported positive effect on shaping memory consolidation that can be applied to strengthen memory. 

For students, application of olfactory TMR is plausible. For safe sleeping options, essential oil diffusers and wall plug-ins are able to be run overnight, perfect to use while studying and sleeping. While our main focus should be on getting an adequate amount of sleep always, it’s helpful to know that there are alternative ways to improve memory as well.

Cairney et al. (2019). Contextual priming of word meanings is stabilized over sleep. Cognition 182(109-126).

Shanahan, L., Gottfried, J. (2017). Scents and reminiscence: Olfactory influences on memory consolidation in the sleeping human brain. 10.1007/978-3-319-45066-7_20. 

Sukel, K. (2019). Can You Learn in Your Sleep? Retrieved from Can You Learn in Your Sleep? (brainfacts.org)

University of Georgia (2021). Sleep Rocks! ...Get More of It! Retrieved from University Health Center | Managing Stress | Sleep | University Health Center (uga.edu)

Smell and Its Effect On Memory

               

    When it comes to memory, many of us would assume that senses such as sight, sound, and touch would have the most eminent role in the formation of memory as those are some of the most common senses used in our daily live. We see the morning sun rise, we hear the birds chirping, and we touch our loved ones to show affection. However, a sense that also plays a large role in memory is one that comes to a surprise to some-smell. Indeed, smell, or rather olfaction, has a prominent role in the formation and consolidation of memory in the human brain. It is evident that over the millennia, Man has become more and more visually adapted given our extensive use of visual based devices such as screens, but the importance of the other sense, namely smell, should not be disregarded. Researchers have been working away to uncover the nature of this sense and the effects that it has on memory and the results are rather profound.

               Olfaction would have itself play a broader and deeper role in memory than one would think. Dr. Laura K. Shanahan reports that researchers, such as Dr. Rasch, have been investigating the role that olfaction plays in the formation of memory.  The experiment itself consisted of a visual/spatial learning task that involved the participants learning where certain card pairs were located. The participants were then instructed to go to sleep and upon waking, were tasked with recollecting the card pairs. While asleep, the experimental group was exposed to a rose aroma while they slept. Results from this experiment demonstrated that during slow wave sleep, participants exposed to the odor did better in the recollection than those that were not exposed. An fMRI that was conducted in a related experiment revealed how the hippocampus becomes active and receptive to olfaction during slow wave sleep and thus explains how the participants did better in the task. This experiment marks how odor plays a key role in forming stronger memory connections. While humans have clearly demonstrated the importance of olfaction in the formation of memory, the effect is more pronounced in those animals.

               Dr. Shanahan and Rasch were not the only one investigating the role that olfaction plays in the formation of memories, but also individuals such as Dr. Strauch and Manahan-Vaughan were also investigating the role that olfaction plays in memory. The experiment was conducted on rats who have had direct neural stimulation of the piriform cortex and simulated sets of different neural impulses. The impulses are used to essentially simulate different instances of odor that have been perceived by the rat and so would give an idea of how the brain of the rat would react. The testing found that different paths were activated when neurons were stimulated in both the hippocampus and the piriform cortex. The results of the experiment demonstrated that the piriform cortex, which is a part of the brain that concerns olfaction, has influence on the information storage within the hippocampus. Animals have a clear connection between the olfactory neurons and memory, just as humans do. Perhaps looking into the olfactory nerves of animals will also paint a better picture of how it affects us as well.

               A good way to visualize all this data is to try to remember personal memories. Recall a memory, a pleasant one perhaps. Remember the sights and sounds that day, the feelings of joy and jubilation. Then it hits you. The smells of that time, the mood in the air as well. It permeates the memory and creates with it a masterpiece. That is the power that smell has on memory. An even more obvious example would be smells associated with festivities such as the smoke of a summer barbecue or a welcoming aroma of a Christmas candle. Strong memories such as the aforementioned are more strongly tied to a particular sent and provide for a stronger memory. From this little thought experiment, smell indeed does invoke powerful memories and leads to a stronger retrieval of those memories than some other stimuli.

               Of course, there is still much to learn in the realm of Memory Formation. In time, future advancements in technology and advancements in research techniques will enable a better grasp on the mechanisms behind the process itself and could lead to new realm of learning in turn. The sense of smell may not seem much to many, but its role in memory consolidation has demonstrated itself to be an important addition to the human experience. Now, with a better understanding of the sense of smell, perhaps it is a good idea to take note of the sense and the sensations that it brings. Follow your nose, there may be some pleasant memories to be made in that sweet smell of fresh baked bread that you just picked up.

 

References:

Shanahan, L. K., & Gottfried, J. A. (2017). Scents and Reminiscence: Olfactory Influences on Memory Consolidation in the Sleeping Human Brain. Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory Consolidation, 335–346. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45066-7_20

 

ScienceDaily. (2019, April 29). How the olfactory brain affects memory. ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190429125422.htm.