Scents and Memories

I suppose this topic has been on my mind for quite some time. Hopefully in writing this I'll discover a few personal things and present what's on my mind to you.

As we know, scents are our closest links to our memories. The olfactory nerve (sense of smell) is located very close to the amygdala in the brain. The amygdala is where our emotions and emotional memory reside. In addition, our olfactory nerve is close to the hippocampus, which is associated with memory. Considering our minds work in a series of events, this would help explain why you would first remember the bee, then the sting, what it felt like, then finally how you responded emotionally. Your brain retrieves different information by traveling to different regions. Depending on the emotion, we secrete different amounts of chemicals in response to help us feel it and react. It's our body's defense system, among other things.

About two weeks ago I performed in a Jazz Band. I was with people, had a good time, laughed a lot, and was happy. Afterwards as people began to trickle out of the building, I decided to leave. As I walked to my car, an interesting thing happened. I caught the scent of the air. In that instant, I recalled the last time the air smelt that way. I immediately remembered the time, the place, what I was doing, and who I was with. Every exact detail came to mind of when I last held that scent. After a couple seconds delay, every emotion linked in every way with the event and person also flooded through me. It was a shock to my system. In a panic, I ran out to find the exact place I had last felt this way. I ran for several minutes desperate to fulfill and understand this memory. I found the place, and then the exact time I had last held that scent hit me. I was overcome with an intense feeling of Deja Vu. I was in the same place, same temperature, and same time as I was exactly the year previous. To the very day. To the detail everything was the same, except that person. In essence, I was reliving a memory, though this time it was with a new perspective. I had a new understanding of my life up to that point, and felt I had the upper hand with what I knew.

This won't happen to most of you, so don't be concerned about your ability to smell. What I learned was that, yes, our ability to smell is incredibly closely linked to our memories both emotional and event orients. I've also learned that places also affect us. A combination of both can be quite powerful.

Do yourself a favor. Create new recipes, buy different scented shampoo, use a new car freshener, and light scented candles when you're with your significant other. By creating new scents, you're also creating new opportunities to recall memories. Feeling down? Bake some of those cookies you had as a child.

Thus is the same with every other sense. Not as powerfully, but true nonetheless. Whether it's old music, a backrub, pictures, or a walk through some streets in town, there are many things you can recall. 

Go visit your grandparents house, and you'll better understand what I'm saying.