How Can The Aroma Relive Old Memories And Memories?

Illustration of women wearing perfume (Photo: Freepik/rawpixel.com)

Have you ever thought of an ex-person just because you smelled the perfume that used to be worn? Suddenly swept away in old memories because of the fragrance of the favorite cafe where you hang out in the past? This phenomenon is not a coincidence, science has an explanation of why the smell is so strong in reviving emotional memories.

Psychologist Donald harus menyinggung hal ini hampir sejumlah lalu. Dalam penelitiannya tahun 1935, ia meminta ratusan partisipan mencatat momen ketika sebuah bau memicu panjak balik. Hasilnya mengejutkan, aroma bisa mengularkan memori dengan detail dan emosi yang sangat kuat.

"The smell of sawdust can bring out a series of past images that are so clear even though for a moment, I live again in that scene," said one of the research respondents revealed by Allah, quoted from the Harvard Medicine page.

he also asked, "Is it possible that this sense has been ignored by educators as a way in to the mind?"

Research proves my guess. Sandeep Robert Datta, professor of neurobiology at Harvard Medical School, said that smell has a direct relationship with the center of emotion and memory in the brain.

"Now it's clear that although human smell is not as strong as rats or sniffer dogs, this sense is highly connected to our cognitive, emotional, and memory centers," Datta said.

"We rely heavily on it for a sense of well-being and a foothold in the world," he continued.

Unlike sounds or images that have to go through thalamus before reaching the hippocampus (memory center) and amigdala (emocidal center), the smell has a shorter path. Because it is located close together, the aroma can immediately trigger deep buried emotional memories. That's why the smell of ex perfume can make you seem to return to the past in an instant.

The smell that evokes memories is not always bad. Rachel Herz, a neurologist from Brown University, said that the scent connected to personal experiences can reduce stress, improve moods to slow breathing so that it is more relaxed.

But the other side of the strength of the aroma is its ability to trigger trauma.

"If someone has a smell connected to the trauma, that smell is almost certainly one of the strongest triggers", Kerry totaled, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

For example, a former perfume that used to be present in a toxic relationship can trigger painful emotional flashbacks.

Interestingly the strength of the smell is now starting to be used as therapy. In some nursing homes, dementia or Alzheimer's patients are helped considering the past through aroma-based 'reminiscence therapy'. Starting from coffee smells, flowers to special summer fragrances. Research also shows that loss of smell can be an early sign of Alzheimer's.

"One hope is that we can use odor-based memory to learn what's wrong in diseases like Alzheimer's." Datta explained.

When you smell perfume identical to your ex, the brain immediately turns on the track of smell to the center of emotion and memory.

The hipokampus linked the scent to certain moments, while the amygdala gave emotional color to the memory. As a result, memories appear so alive, complete with happiness, longing, and even the pain of separation.

As written earlier, memories of the scent are not just temporary flashes, but something that can make you come back to life in those memories.