Research Discovers How Smells Trigger Memories

Sometimes, smells trigger powerful and poignant memories; recent research has identified what makes this strange phenomenon possible.

Smells associated with sad memories are most powerful, according to a study at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. One group of subjects memorized words in a neutral mood; another group memorized them after hearing sad stories and melancholy music. Both groups were exposed to the scent of violets while learning their words.

When exposed to the same smell a day later, participants from the sad setting were better able to spontaneously recall words than subjects whose moods had remained neutral. "Sad mood enhanced the value of odor as the retrieval clue," lead researchers Drs. John Mueller and Ljiljana Velisavljevic explained. Findings were presented at the June, 2001 meeting of the American Psychological Society in Toronto.

Other strong emotions may also link scent to memory, and Mueller plans further studies to test this theory. But what lies behind the strange relationship between smell and memory?

Neuroanatomy, perhaps. "The brain structure involved in processing odor is adjacent to that involved in processing/generating emotional experiences . . . these are both 'early' stages in the processing of experiences. It may be that both centers are activated together, or each by the other to some extent," Mueller theorized.

Compliments of Practical Memory Institute www.memoryzine.com