Fragrances and Smells: How it Affects You Fragrances and Smells: How it Affects You Olfaction is the sense of smell. It is sometimes referred to as remote chemoreception, or the ability to detect odors from a distance. How does the human nose detect scents and odors? Below and between the eyes are the nasal passages; at the top of those passages are olfactory sensors. Molecules which make up a scent detach from substances and travel through the air to the nostrils, and are inhaled. The molecules dissolve in the mucus membrane within the nasal passages and bind to and stimulate the receptor cells located there. The information is transmitted to olfactory bulbs at the back of the nose, and the information is sent to the brain, particularly the limbic system, where memory helps us recognize odors. Humans can distinguish more than 10,000 different scents. Human olfaction is the most sensitive of all five senses. With touch and taste, information must travel through the body via neurons and the spinal cord before reaching the brain. But only a single synapse separates smell information from the brain, which means the olfactory sense is immediate. About 75 percent of what is perceived as taste actually comes from our sense of smell. A strong sense – This article discusses how the olfactory sense works and how humans are generally affected by smells and odors. The chemistry of the nose – This web page gives a fairly easy-to-understand explanation of the human olfactory system. How it works – This college biology paper provides a very good look into how the human olfactory system works. A study of the onset of Parkinson’s - This is a very interesting discussion of a potential connection between changes in olfaction sensitivity and Parkinson’s disease. Molecular Structure and Smell – Try the experiments shown here and see for yourself how scents can differ when molecular structure is only slightly different. Emotion Within the brain’s limbic system is a memory holding tank and a regulator of mood and emotion. The human sense of smell has a direct route to the emotional center of our brain, thus certain scents and fragrances can trigger emotions. But some researchers have reason to believe that some of our preference is learned through experience, while some may also be genetic. For example, both identical twins may like the same scent, whereas fraternal twins may not share the same like or dislike. Does scent makes our wants stronger? – Read about what retailers and manufacturers are doing to attract customers, and you are the judge. Scents and Productivity – Here are some things that the corporate world is doing to increase employee productivity. Scent and Absorption – Read this for information that points to a relationship between different smells and how well foreign language is learned. Chamomile and Behavior – In this paper, the writer discusses the relaxation and other medicinal properties of chamomile.
Mood
A 1998 study by Robert K. Fulbright showed that there are, indeed, physical effects of scent on humans. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to map the regions of the brain that were active after scent detection. It was discovered that the activity in the brain’s frontal regions, caused by positive as well as negative scents, is linked to brain processes in the olfactory networks. Certain areas of the brain are triggered, which results in certain associations. It’s unclear, though, what influence these regions of the brain and associations have on other aspects of daily life. But what can be said is when persons are in pleasant conditions, a significantly greater percentage of happy memories results than when persons are in unpleasant scent conditions, so say Ehrlichman & Halpern in their 1988 study, which showed that scent had a significant impact on emotions and memories. It influenced how persons thought about something from the past. The participants’ opinions of their memories were influenced by the scent. There is no known limit as to what effect scent from the environment can have on one’s state. But to be clear, scent can simply impact the behavior states because they are associated with not only positive emotions, but with threat, food, and sometimes sex. The mild scent of vanilla is known to be comforting to Americans, but for Japanese, it has no affect at all. Peppermint is a scent favored by Americans but in Britain, it is an ingredient in medicinal concoctions and thus, has an unpleasant connection. Smells and the Brain - This pdf proves that changes in brain activity occur when different odorants are introduced. Opposite Reactions – Read about researchers’ discoveries that can positively affect mood in women….but negatively in med. Scent and Mood – Read how hotels try to enhance the experience for guests using scents. Scents that ease anxiety – Read several experiments and see how certain scents affected anxiety for patients. Behavior and Smells –Read this piece which researches the connection between smells and how they can affect behaviors. Perception Effects - of People Smell is a tremendous help in discovering a potential mate, for humans as well as other animals. When one person is attracted to another, his or her scent can influence the degree of continuing attraction. A 1999 study by Wrzeniewski, McCauley, & Rozin discovered that when the other person’s scent is found to be pleasant, more positive emotional aspects are associated with that person, and an unpleasant scent fosters unpleasant or negative aspects. When humans were in the presence of a positive scent, he it was reported that the company he or she was in was more attractive than others of a neutral and negative scent condition. Different people are attracted to different features, and little research has been done to explain why. Though personality and looks are certainly part of the initial attraction, smell may be of greater significance than we suspect. That spark or “chemistry” you feel with an individual who isn’t quite your “type” may be his or her scent that is subconsciously drawing you near.
Studies show that when a person’s smell is perceived as “good,” the person is perceived as a potentially compatible mate. More than 10 years ago, Claude Wedekind conducted a study where forty-four men were asked to wear the same T-shirt for three days straight. Deodorant and scented soap wasn’t permitted as it would interfere with their natural smell. Women then sniffed the shirts and indicated which ones they preferred the best. In comparing the DNA of the men and women, the researchers discovered that the women’s choices certainly were NOT random. They preferred the scent of a man whose immune system genes varied most from their own. Scents, Mood, and Attraction – Read about the power of the sense of smell -- how it influences mood and our degree of attraction to others. Lose the deodorant – On this interesting web page, read why a person’s natural body scent is attractive to a particular individual. The Scent of a Woman/Man – This web page offers some interesting information about when women and men are most likely to find each other’s body odor attractive, or a turn-off. Female Attraction - This study finds that women can smell genetic differences The connection between Smell and Attraction – While most adults studied insect and animal pheromones in school, this is a look at whether human pheromones exist. Hunger Humans use an external clock in our daily activities to indicate time of day and this can trigger our hunger. For example, when the clock reads 12 noon – the time most people recognize as lunch “time” -- they may feel hungry based only on what time it is, which is a learned behavior. Also, taste and smell of food can be a hunger trigger. For instance, if you are a fan of red meat, the smell of a steak on an outdoor grill may pompt hunger. But this is a learned preference. If one does not like fish, the smell fish frying does not trigger hunger, and may even trigger a loss of appetite. People also feel hungry for a particular taste, like something salty, or sweet, and will continue to yearn for that taste until it is satisfied. Results of a study done in the U.S. were published in Journal of Neurological and Orthopedic Medicine and Surgery in 1995. The discovery was that inhaling particular fragrances seemed to help maintain weight loss for an extended period of time. Of about 3,000 people tested, those who more frequently sniffed from inhalers with apple, peppermint, and banana scents seemed to lose weight faster and keep it off compared to those who used the inhalers less frequently. This means that frequent inhalation of the pleasant edible aromas register a kind of “satisfaction” switch in the brain, telling it that the body wants no more to eat and is satisfied. The science of smell and hunger – This site gives an explanation of the connection between the cognitive components of hunger Scent and Behavior - Here is some interesting reading about what smells trigger “edible or inedible” reactions and why. Smell and Taste – Read this information and discover the relationship between the taste and the smell of foods. Experimental Cooking – Try this test and see how others perceive certain smells that are created. Try this with your children – See the connection between how food tastes when we can, and cannot, smell it. Memory Not only does the olfactory system enable humans to recall particular scents and smells, it also helps to bring back memories. The body replaces olfactory neurons about every two months, so how is the limbic system of the brain able to remember past smells? The olfactory neurons that die are replaced by a new set of neurons directly beneath them with the same composition as the predecessor. This is how certain smells are “familiar.” Olfactory memory consists of the brain’s ability to recognize and classify scents, and the ability of scents to influence memory without additional context. A wine taster uses olfactory memory when able identify the scents of blackberry or chocolate in a wine made only of grapes and water. When the smell of pine trees and cinnamon conjures thoughts of Christmas even in summer, that is scent memory. The brain’s limbic system receives information from receptors about a certain smell that mediates mood and emotion, and acts as a memory storage area. This is an intersection where emotions, memories, and odors meet. This helps to explain why smell is so often an intense trigger for memory and emotion. When perceiving a particular aroma that an individual associates with a past memory, as the olfactory process recognizes the odor, the correlated memory also resurfaces. Remembering events – At this site, learn the correlation between memory and the sense of smell. Scent triggers memories – This is a paper written by a college biology student on how the olfactory sense affects behavior. The scent memory bank – How does the brain recognize scents and what happens when we smell something for the first time? Science still doesn’t have all the answers, but some are here in this magazine article. Unpleasant smells aren’t always an unpleasant memory – In this article from ScienceNotes magazine, read into the relationship between memori9es and smells. Scent’s link to memory – Read this short article about what science has learned about scent prediction.
Scent Preferences
When we choose certain scents over others and decide we like or dislike this or that, some studies say that is a nurtured behavior, rather than a natural one. International Journal of Comparative Psychology published results of a study conducted by a team from Brown University. One conclusion was that humans are not predisposed to a good or bad response to a certain scent; liking or disliking it is learned. And when a particular odor is paired with an event that is emotional in nature, how that odor is perceived becomes altered according to the association. For example, the fragrance of a rose may be very pleasant for some, while it may remind another of a loved one’s funeral. Someone may actually find the smell of skunk not unpleasant because it is associated with a positive childhood memory. Learned Likes – A team from Brown University studies the connection between emotion, scent, and learned behavior. Scent Preference May Be Genetic – That’s what this research study points to…interesting. Preferences may be inherited – Here’s more research that concludes preferences are in our genes. Similarities in Cultural Perceptions of Smells – There is some research here that may help marketers to predict new product popularity. Smell Criteria – Visit this site for the criteria sought for a study on how people distinguish and perceive certain smells. Aromatherapy – Aromatherapy is a term French chemist Rene Maurice Gattefosse gave to the use of oily essences of flowers, plants, seeds, and even roots in the healing process and to prompt physical and psychological well-being. Gattefosse used essential oils during the First World War and on soldiers’ wounds, discovered antiseptic and other medicinal properties that were even better than some of the chemical treatments that were being used. Simply by inhaling oil aromas through the nose, information is sent to the limbic system of the brain and can trigger emotions, feelings, and memory. The power of fragrance – The practice of using scent for therapeutic benefits goes back thousands of years. Read about the history of fragrant, essential oils. Health practice should include aromatherapy - This health practitioner says aromatherapy goes back to before there were “cavemen.” Read about why she finds essential oils so valuable. Improve your love life with scent – An aromatherapist discusses the correlation between certain floral scents and romanticism. What IS an essential oil? – In outline appearance, this web page gives great information into essential oils and the origins of certain strong-smelling spices. Different powers of different scents – Read about what studies revealed about lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint, and a number of other scents.
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