Why do we often associate memories with scents?

Perhaps not surprisingly, the sense of smell has a strong relationship with memory. 'People often say that the sense of smell evokes memories so well that they feel as though they are experiencing the event again. Smelling grandma's pasta sauce makes them feel like they're home, having a good meal." Theresa L. White, PhD, professor and chair of the department of psychology at Le Moyne University in Syracuse, New York, said.

This year, several studies have looked closely at the link between scents and memories. A study by Northwestern Medicine published in the journal Progress in Neurobiology has uncovered the neural basis for how the brain lets scents trigger strong memories.

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine have discovered the types of neurons in the brain's memory centers that are responsible for acquiring new associative memories, those that are triggered by new memories. unrelated things, such as scents.

The olfactory system and the brain

Dr Pamela Dalton, an experimental psychologist and lecturer at the Monell Chemical Senses Center said: 'Our experience with scent is when it's associated with a person, a place or a state. feeling. When it's important or salient events, smells can be so closely linked to memories - to the point where re-experiencing the scent often revives the emotions or feelings that were originally experienced,' Dalton explains. like.

The most prominent odors are those that are not often experienced.

The stronger association of emotional memories with scents than with other sensory experiences seems to be due to the privileged access to central brain structures of the olfactory system to those of the limbic system - such as amygdala and hippocampus, which are involved in the regulation of emotions and affective memories.

A specific type of memory

A 2010 study in the American Journal of Psychology found that scent-related memories are not necessarily more accurate, but tend to evoke more emotion.

Often, the most prominent odors are those that are not often experienced, so when we smell them, they have a specific connection. 'They're usually smells we first experience at a younger age,' Dalton says. However, she points out that because people's experiences with smells are so unique and personal, the actual ability to trigger the sense of smell can vary widely from person to person.

White says: 'It's worth mentioning that episodic memories or memories of specific events from the experiencer's own perspective are where the sense of smell is best connected with memory. For other types of memories, scent does not play such a good role. For example, if I show you seven words and tell you to remember, and then seven scents to remember too, you will no doubt remember seven words better."

White explains that associative memory can work for any sense, smell is no exception. She said: 'Imagine that you always relax in a lavender-scented bath at the end of the day. You will associate the scent of lavender with a feeling of relaxation. This means that over time, when you smell lavender but aren't in the tub, you'll still feel relaxed."

Harness the power of scent

Researchers have found that scents can play a role in triggering memory, increasing our ability to recall or perceive information.

In his study, Dalton asked participants to remember the faces of strangers with different scents. She revealed: 'The best recognition performance occurred when they were tested with the same smell that was present when they saw those faces. Several other studies have confirmed similar findings, for example the study that the presence of a scent can help a person recall that information.

In this time of pandemic, it's natural for us to wonder if the hypothesized Covid-19 survivors' affected sense of smell could lead to memory problems.

But so far, there have been no specific studies on the memory of people who have lost their sense of smell (before Covid-19). 'Loss of smell could mean that any olfactory memories cannot be revived and, therefore, cannot form new memories,' says Dalton.

Hopefully, over time, we will understand all the causes of so many people's loss of sense of smell across all aspects of cognitive and emotional functioning, including memory.