Tech | November 08, 2009 | 22 comments

Can smells trigger memories from the past?

source: http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/11/06/new-smells-etched-in-brain-stu...

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FishaHouse777
FRIDAY, Nov. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Do you remember the first time you smelled a type of flower? You almost certainly don't, but new research suggests that your brain might.

In the study, published online Nov. 5 in the journal Current Biology, researchers
showed objects to adult study participants. They paired the objects with pleasant or unpleasant odors and sounds.

"We found that the first pairing or association between an object and a smell had a distinct signature in the brain," Yaara Yeshurun, of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, co-author of the study, said in a news release from the journal's publisher. "This 'etching' of initial odor memories in the brain was equal for good and bad smells, yet was unique to odor."

At the same time, the researchers scanned the brains of the participants using functional MRI technology.

A week later, the researchers showed the same objects to the study participants and scanned their brains to see if there was a link to the sounds and smells.

The study participants were more likely to remember an association if the link was unpleasant. But there was more: A part of the brain connected to the sense of smell activated when they linked a smell to an object.

The researchers think there's something unique about the first time we smell something.

"We expected a unique representation of initial or 'first' olfactory associations, but did not expect that it would materialize even in cases where the behavioral evidence did not indicate a stronger memory," Yeshurun said. "In our paradigm, initial and later olfactory associations were remembered equally well, but only first associations had the unique brain representation."

The research could eventually help scientists
boost memories, Yeshurun said. "Perhaps more importantly, it may help us generate methods to better forget early and powerful memories, such as trauma."

http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/11/06/new-smells-etched-...
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    Community,   Tech,   Science,   The Future,   1 more
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    Memory,  Past,  Smells,  remember,  4 more
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22 comments // Can smells trigger memories from the past?

  • CalgarC
  • panichead
  • FishaHouse777
  • royulery
    • 0
      royulery  

    • fishahouse777; thank god somebody is reading my stuff, i have been purposely pushing the limit of some of my comments to get a reaction. this post is not one of them, i will defend my statements. i've studied this topic extensively and am certified as a master hypnotist and master programer in n.l.p.. i've worked empowerment seminars and taught at a hypnosis school.
      n.l.p.is multi faceted, at it's core is the principal of rapport and to gain that state of understanding and relating to a person, first the persons primary sensual system is identified. a person will favor a sense and lets say he is primarily visual and uses pictures to process info.. the movements of the eyes tell how the brain processes info; by words, by feelings, by taste and smell, etc... a person has a unique language of; sensual systems, gestures and words. learning that language allows a therapist to immediately gain trust and understanding. the connection becomes so deep that heart beat and breathing match.
      the term ecology is used to describe the many behaviors a person uses to protect core values.
      i can go on but this may suffice. n.l.p. has probably been superseded in the last 20 years. if you want to research this more there are a lot of great books but the key to understanding n.l.p. is that it is modeled on the natural behavior of dr. milton erickson. mirroring him can grant rapid hypnosis, with or without trance. by hypnosis i mean communication on the deepest level (not the stage stuff).

    • 3 years ago
  • FishaHouse777
    • 0
      FishaHouse777  
    • royulery:

      Ecology has a specific definition my friend, you are thinking of integrity. Integrity is what someone uses to protect certain "core values". Also you seem like more of a personal, spiritual guiding therapist....than a hypnotist. Please don't take offence in that but just like ecology I always thought hypnosis had a certain definition, being it is to put asleep the conscious mind and awakening the subconscious.

      Nonetheless i'm not a hypnosis guru which you seem to be from what you just stated, so I will gladly check out the n.1.p. site and put some insight into my mind on what you're saying. Thanks for commenting by the way.

    • 3 years ago
  • Briana_Lehman
  • royulery
    • 0
      royulery  

    • old info. hypnosis teaches this 30 years ago. neuro lingustic programing uses aromas as standard practice for altering conscious states because of it's immediate effect.
      there is an incident used as a warning in hypnosis; a man comes to a hypnotherapist to quit smoking, so he is treated. he comes back because he is now eating too much, he is treated. he comes back because now he is drinking, he is treated. he goes home and jumps out of his window. he survives.
      examining what happened; the therapist didn't spend the time finding out what the compulsive behaviors were protecting the man from.
      the man defenseless, comes home and his wife is cooking, he smells burnt onion, the same smell that he smelled when he came home as a boy and found his mother dead. his smoking kept him from smelling burnt onion.
      within the mind, there is an ecology, affecting one thing affects everything.

    • 3 years ago
  • FishaHouse777
    • 0
      FishaHouse777  
    • Image
    • royulery:

      Neuro-linguistic's have nothing to do with smells, it's the mechanics of how the brain processes language.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurolinguistics

      And your example is false, hypnosis would of shown that he had childhood trauma to start with. Also quitting smoking naturally leads to another addiction like eating or drinking to fight nicotine urges. Post-traumatic stress wouldn't induce those addictions also, although the smell could trigger the PTS.

      Lastly there is no "ecology" in the brain (the mind is a different thing), ecology is an interaction of an organism with it's environment.

    • 3 years ago
  • Aoirsae
  • neonbunny
  • FishaHouse777
  • neonbunny
  • FishaHouse777
  • neonbunny
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  
    • neonbunny:

      Sometimes things which appear to be 'old news' to us, but it is 'new news' to someone else. I was glad to see the post. I don't get to tell people about my 'Conn-igital often. It's an ongoing joke between my husband and myself. He often says 'click-click' if I apprear to be missing a memorable moment.

    • 3 years ago
  • neonbunny
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  

    • I take pictures in my mind. When I see something special and don't have a camera with me, I say 'click, click'. I call them 'Conn-igital', pictures in my mind, complete with smell-o-vision. I also can remember the smells associated with the picture.

    • 3 years ago
  • FishaHouse777
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  
    • Conniepae:

      I am trying to teach my three granddaughters how to catch a memory also. They recently went on vacation, I told them before they left how to do it and told them to see what they could remember to tell me when they come home. They did quite well. I hope they continue to 'capture the memories' throughout their lives.

    • 3 years ago
  • idealist
  • Nettle
    • 0
      Nettle  

    • I remember going back to my elementary school after a decade of being out of it. It still smelled like raviolis and arts and crafts stuff and I had this massive flood of feelings rather than memories come back. Interesting stuff.

    • 3 years ago
  • FishaHouse777
    • 0
      FishaHouse777  

    • This reminds me of my last major relationship. I would always wear a certain cologne before going out with her, and now every time I smell this cologne I get flooded with memories of her. So naturally I don't wear it anymore, memories of an ex-lover are hard to cope with.

    • 3 years ago
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