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Neutralizing memories through neutralizing scent?

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Estel
Post subject: Neutralizing memories through neutralizing scent?
Posted: Tue 05 Jan , 2010 2:24 pm
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I tried to do a bit of research online on how scent therapy is used in alzheimer's patients and also for people who have the disability where they cannot "recognize" faces (I don't remember the name of the disability).

I'm just wondering if any of you have heard of scent therapy being used. Most of the articles I have read have talked about using scent to relieve stress and tension, but not in the role scent plays with memory. Considering how strongly scent is associated with memory, it's hard to believe that there haven't been more studies done on using scent to stimulate memory or even attempts to use it to slow down the progression of alzheimers.

Along those lines, I also tried to look up the disability some people have where they cannot recognize faces. Difficult, since I can't remember the name of the disability. Since, however, scent is recognized in a different part of the brain than facial recognition, would it not be possible to somehow train people with that disability to recognize the smell of the people who they most closely associate with?

The reason I started looking this sort of thing up is that I am a bit of a scent-aholic. I get very visceral memories from certain scents, and have been known to use perfumes as a way of recording events. Dewberry perfume from The Body Shop is a trip to Florida when I was 15 years old; White Musk is a party I went to in university, sandalwood is a trip to Peru - more specifically, it's looking out a certain window at a mountain in Peru; the combination of a humid day, the smell of camel cigarettes, an onion bagel and fresh orange juice and suddenly I am *in* NYC in 1997; there is a certain perfume that reminds me of meeting Steve in Toronto; another that reminds me of him visiting in Texas; yet another that just reminds me of him to the point that if I smell it, I turn around looking for him; there's a perfume that puts me in Holland on a snowy day the day after the Oscars in 2004.

The point is, we know scent is strongly associated with memory. The problem is, we are getting rid of strong scents, whether it be perfume or otherwise. We use sprays to get rid of the smell in a room. We ban people from wearing perfume, or even scented lotion or scented shampoo, in the work place. We are neutralizing our world of smells, good and bad. It makes me wonder if, in future, even if we do develop scent therapy for people with alzheimer's, or other recognition disabilities, will it do any good?

I guess my questions are:

Can scent therapy be used in medicine?

Can neutralizing the natural smells in our world be a good thing?

Are perfumes really so terrible?

Just how closely do you associate scent with memory? Are we losing this ability?

What role does the nose play in the human world?

What are the cultural differences in what is acceptable when it comes to smells?

etc etc etc


Basically, I just want to talk about our memories, things that smell and how we might better utilize our noses whether it be in medicine or otherwise.

I wasn't going to start this thread at first, as I thought that it wouldn't get many, if any, responses. The thing is, people are generally very emotional when it comes to smells. A bad fart can drive us out of a room. A great smell can draw us into one (popcorn anyone?). The way a person smells can attract or repel us. The same smell can do both to different people. We may not think that scent plays an important role in our lives, but it does generate very primal and immediate reactions from us. It may not be the most intellectual subject for a discussion, but it is, at a very basic level, human.

So...

what smells?


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MariaHobbit
Post subject: Re: Neutralizing memories through neutralizing scent?
Posted: Tue 05 Jan , 2010 3:44 pm
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I certainly hope scents aren't that integral to memories, since I still have periods of anosmia from time to time! I used to dislike strong odors of any kinds, with a special antipathy to fake odors of any sort. I thought smelling nothing was sensing that something was *clean* up until I developed anosmia and my nose switched off. When you can't smell anything it's really a handicap. Okay, not as much of a handicap as losing any other sense, but it's distressing all the same. You lose most of your sense of taste, since all of the complexities of flavor are aromas and all that's left is salt, sweet, bitter, sour and umami. Pretty dull. It makes cooking rather hit or miss as well, since you can't taste test to tell if the levels of spices are right or not.

My sense of smell came back when I stopped eating so much sugar, but it still malfunctions once in a while when I am not careful with the diet. I'm subject to phantom smells and periods of no smells.

That's why I hope memory is not linked to scents! My worst nightmares consist of losing my memory, and I've had numerous olfactory malfunctions already. If they are linked so strongly..... well, I don't like to think about that.

In me, really, I don't think scents will be strongly linked to memory. When one's nose screws up enough that skunk odor smells tasty, there's not much point in linking the smell with the experience.

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Lidless
Post subject: Re: Neutralizing memories through neutralizing scent?
Posted: Wed 06 Jan , 2010 8:08 am
Als u het leven te ernstig neemt, mist u de betekenis.
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When writing a book, authors are encouraged to describe scents to get the reader immersed in the scene.

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Ara-anna
Post subject: Re: Neutralizing memories through neutralizing scent?
Posted: Wed 06 Jan , 2010 2:09 pm
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I know there are certain scents that trigger memories in me, mostly of those who have passed. When I smell something that reminds me of my grandfather I think that his ghost must be around. Weird I know but that's that I think from time to time.

However, there are times that certain smells remind me of living people. There is a certain Avon smell that reminds me of living with my grandparents when I was really young. Since it's one of my happy childhood memories I like the smell quite a bit.

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MariaHobbit
Post subject: Re: Neutralizing memories through neutralizing scent?
Posted: Wed 06 Jan , 2010 4:42 pm
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I have a memory that is only remarkable for it's complete lack of scent. It was right after I discovered that I really wasn't smelling anything anymore, and I volunteered to clean up something really putrid that was making everyone else gag. It was kind of unreal as I scooped the rotting stuff out and power washed the container, as I knew from it's condtion that it really ought to smell a LOT-- but it didn't. Not a bit. I cleaned up carefully afterwards and then had my husband smell me to make sure I'd gotten it all- since there was no way to tell if the soap and water I'd used on myself was adequate.

He kind of got tired of smelling things for me, before my nose recovered.

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elfshadow
Post subject: Re: Neutralizing memories through neutralizing scent?
Posted: Wed 06 Jan , 2010 7:03 pm
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For me, smells are a powerful way to bring back memories. I often have trouble remembering specific moments, even if they were important or meaningful, unless I have some sort of stimulation. It's just always been hard for me to conjure a memory from nowhere. I have to be reminded by something in my environment. I would be terribly sad if it turned out humans were losing our sense of smell! I love scents of all kinds, particularly when they are connected to some sort of memory. I even like the smell of mothballs (which are notorious for being disliked) because they remind me of my grandparents' house. They passed away over twelve years ago and the last time I was at their house, I was seven years old. They lived in a very humid part of Arkansas and so would have to put mothballs in all of their storage boxes--I am from Colorado, where it is dry enough that no one ever uses mothballs. So that smell gives me a powerful memory of my grandparents, even though it has been so long since I knew them and I was so very young. I hope that ability never goes away.

I am constantly lighting candles and incense around the house because I get kind of uncomfortable when I can't smell anything. I have never been bothered by perfumes or scented lotions, unless they are just too strong! I think it would be a very interesting study to determine whether or not it was possible to "train" patients suffering from the facial recognition disorder to be able to recognize people from scent alone. I also wonder whether there is any data on the increased use of sense of smell by people who have lost other vital senses--such as the blind or deaf. I would imagine that without sight or hearing, scents would become particularly important recognition factors.

I love the sense of smell. My own is finely tuned so that I can detect the presence of a Lush store from at least a block away. I don't know what I'd do if I lost this ability! ;) (I love the Big shampoo from Lush because of its smell. It is SO FAMILIAR to me and yet I can't seem to remember what else it's from. :scratch: )


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LalaithUrwen
Post subject: Re: Neutralizing memories through neutralizing scent?
Posted: Wed 06 Jan , 2010 9:49 pm
The Grey Amaretto as Supermega-awesome Proud Heretic Girl
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I suspect that it would be very difficult to train people to recognize others by their smells. I don't think humans have enough olfactory smells for that to be possible. (I think it's possible sort of but probably not reliably.)

Freddy doesn't have much of a sense of smell (but boy does he smell sometimes! :LMAO: ). Okay, er, sorry. Anyway, I have a very sensitive sense of smell, so we do make a good combo--most of the time. He gets annoyed when I complain about the dog smelling, but I can tell when her ears are infected or her gums or when her butt stinks. I can often tell from the smell of urine whether or not someone has an infection. And I can tell from Freddy's breath whether he's working on a sinus infection. (Also with the girls, too.)

I love perfumes and scents, but I do have to be careful. Many trigger my asthma, usually the floral scents. :( That's a bummer, of course.

As for smells triggering memories, absolutely!!! Cucumbers are my grandpa. He loved them and I associate the smell of them with him. I can still picture him in their kitchen making the salads in these cool squarish bowls they had. He always put extra cucumbers on my salad and his, and I'd steal some as he was slicing them. :)

There's a certain smell you get from fabric that reminds me of my grandma. She lived in a trailer and had this tiny room that was piled from floor to ceiling with fabric. (She sewed quilts and things.) Sometimes I'd go in there and sit among all of the bright colors of fabric and watch the dust motes float in the sunshine.

I have other smells that remind me of her, too. :love:

Oh, darn, I have to go now, but I'll think about it some more and post later.

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LalaithUrwen
Post subject: Re: Neutralizing memories through neutralizing scent?
Posted: Thu 07 Jan , 2010 11:34 pm
The Grey Amaretto as Supermega-awesome Proud Heretic Girl
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I've been thinking about this.

I have a book of herbal medicine, which also includes ideas for aromatherapy. I do think there is some merit to this.

The neurological condition that renders people incapable of identifying faces is Prosopagnosia.
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/pros ... gnosia.htm

What an odd thing, btw.
Quote:
Prosopagnosia is not related to memory dysfunction, memory loss, impaired vision, or learning disabilities. Prosopagnosia is thought to be the result of abnormalities, damage, or impairment in the right fusiform gyrus, a fold in the brain that appears to coordinate the neural systems that control facial perception and memory. Prosopagnosia can result from stroke, traumatic brain injury, or certain neurodegenerative diseases. In some cases it is a congenital disorder, present at birth in the absence of any brain damage. Congenital prosopagnosia appears to run in families, which makes it likely to be the result of a genetic mutation or deletion. Some degree of prosopagnosia is often present in children with autism and Asperger’s syndrome, and may be the cause of their impaired social development.
It goes on to say that the treatment involves teaching people with the condition compensatory techniques. I don't know if smell might be helpful in this regard. I still tend to lean toward the negative on that one. I just don't think humans have that good of a sense of smell, honestly.

I think, in general, smell is such a subtle thing for us humans. It's right there, just under the surface, and only occasionally are we able to put two and two together, if that makes sense. IOW, I think we can smell more than we realize, but it would be difficult to develop that skill in most people. And, also, we have a lot of people who really have an impaired sense of smell, whether from allergies, sinus issues, aging, etc.

Anyway, more fun memories... The smell of propane reminds me of my grandma's trailer, too. She had a large propane tank outside.

Jergen's Lotion reminds me of my paternal grandma. She always had it in her bathroom. Gardenias remind me of my mother. Brut Cologne and WD-40 remind me of my dad. :LMAO:

The smell of gin and limes takes me back to my childhood, stealing limes from the grownups' glasses of gin and tonics. :D It's summer and twilight. Lightning bugs are just beginning to flash, and a few stars are starting to shine.

Onions frying in butter take me back to countless afternoons in the kitchen, waiting for Mom to cook dinner. It's always warm, and I'm either sitting by the heat vent or by the dryer, which is running. (It was in our kitchen.)

The smell from a garden hose reminds me of hot summer days and lilies of the valley. (Our spigot was nearly buried in the profusion of lilies of the valley we had next to the house.)

Fresh cut grass is my dad. Burning leaves is also my dad and crisp, fall days with blistered hands from raking the yard. Campfire is Girl Scouts and all of the many camping trips we went on. Pine needles take me back to Girl Scout camp and walking through the evergreen woods, slipping on the soft needles, and thinking I could enter another dimension if I only walked just right through the arch from a fallen tree resting on another.

Anyway, yeah, scent is very important to me. :blackeye: I'm also the designated food sniffer in the family.

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elfshadow
Post subject: Re: Neutralizing memories through neutralizing scent?
Posted: Fri 08 Jan , 2010 3:34 am
Kill the headlights and put it in neutral
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Lali, reading about your memories makes me go :love: !!


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LalaithUrwen
Post subject: Re: Neutralizing memories through neutralizing scent?
Posted: Fri 08 Jan , 2010 3:37 am
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Thanks! :Wooper: I should have said earlier that I enjoyed reading other people's memories/favorite smells, too. Maybe because this sense is so subtle it is all the more precious to us. :)

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Riverthalos
Post subject: Re: Neutralizing memories through neutralizing scent?
Posted: Fri 08 Jan , 2010 4:01 am
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There's a smell I associate with my grandparents' garage. Another with their kitchen.

Formalin, and certain solvents, take me back to when my mom took me to work with her on occasion. I blame her for what I've become. She doesn't seem to mind.

The reek of organic chemistry lab is forever etched in my memory. In particular, the night I lost two lab sessions worth of work and had to stay through the evening session to catch back up, thereby missing physics lab. And it was my birthday too.

Polyurethane and wood stains remind me of Dad's woodworking. So does the smell of sawdust.

Also, there's always been a lack of smell I associate with physics labs and buildings, and the associations aren't always pleasant. Which is ironic because I now work in a physics building. The odd thing is, while I'm told that the chemistry building has a smell

The seasons have smells. Winter, spring, summer, and fall. Iowa has a smell too, of rich dirt and humidity. Glaciers also have a smell.

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MariaHobbit
Post subject: Re: Neutralizing memories through neutralizing scent?
Posted: Fri 08 Jan , 2010 3:38 pm
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I just don't associate smells with particular memories very much, even when my nose is working. I think maybe I ought to, though. I mean, I've bonked my head on the dryer door about three times in the past few months after cleaning the kitty litter box, and you'd think I'd start to associate the smell of cat feces with the danger of hitting my head--- but no.

When I smell traces of the detergent I used to wash the wool I'm spinning, it doesn't bring back memories of the drudgery of the hours I spent getting the fleece clean. I just wonder if there is enough detergent left in the wool to cause my skin to react. :help: Which it did. :doh1: Must rinse more/better next time!

Many of my memories have smells associated with them, but the smell isn't the trigger. The memory itself brings the memory of the smell. When I remember my grandmother in her kitchen, the smell of her cigarettes is prominent and smells *good*. When I smell cigarettes in real life, my throat closes up and I have to step away to get some clean air. No memory of my grandmother surfaces.

A memory of a canoe float trip when I was in college brings the remembrance of the smell of camp fire/ river/ autumn leaves. When I smell these things again, it doesn't trigger the canoe campsite memory, just a recognition of what the smells mean.

A memory of hugging my first horse has a strong smell of warm horse-iness attached to it, but smelling horse doesn't bring up the memory.

I think it would have to be an unusual and not often repeated event to cause a smell to be linked with a particular experience. Something that had only happened once to me, and that I might have to think for a moment to figure out what I was smelling- to where the difficulty of IDing the smell would have to bring up the memory for comparison.

*am trying to think of something I've only done once*

Wow, that was really hard! I spent probably 20 minutes going over unique experiences I've had, but hardly any of them had a unique scent associated with it. The thing that finally occurred to me was when we tried some new, multigrain crackers they had at Sam's. http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/naviga ... tem=373583 There is a taste/smell to them that I've never smelled before and it's horrible. We read the ingredients, but there are too many things I've never tried before to be sure, but something in those crackers is unique and *bad* enough to make me & my husband sick. When we passed a sample table in Sam's the other day, just a casual whiff of the crackers as I walked by took me back to the day when I was gagging over the flavor. I will never eat those again, so there is only the one memory to refer back to- along with the warning that "stuff that smells like this makes you ill".

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