Disabased in relation to other senses, smell plays an essential role in memory, emotions or mental health, according to a researcher.
- Often underestimated, smell plays a key role in our emotions, our memory and our mental health. Directly connected to the limbic brain system, it can trigger powerful memories or emotional reactions.
- Unlike other nervous systems, olfactory cells regenerate regularly, but infections like COVID-19 can disrupt this function. The loss of smell, which affects 5 % to 20 % of the population, impacts social relations, increases the risks of depression and can report neurodegenerative diseases.
- Olfactory training, which consists in feeling powerful odors (flower, citrus, spices) twice a day for several months, emerges as a promising solution to re -educate this vital sense.
Would you be ready to give up your smell to keep another of your senses? Would you bart it against money, your pet or your hair? According to a investigation American conducted in 2022, the answer is yes: the majority of participants consider their olfactory meaning less essential than sight or hearing – probably at the rate – but also less important than their hair, dog or certain personal property.
Somewhat devalued compared to the other four, smell is however a meaning “fascinating” Who plays a crucial role in mental health and memory, among others, recalls the Australian neuroscientist Lynn Nazareth, of the CSIRO, in an article published in The Conversation.
A direct link with memory and emotions
Why can a simple smell of hot bread evoke childhood memories, or a specific fragrance revive a painful break? Unlike sight and hearing, smell is directly connected to the limbic system, part of the brain involved in emotions and memories. The odors are captured by the nerve cells of the smell, which transmit these signals to the amygdal and the hippocampus. This unique connection explains why odors can trigger powerful emotional reactions.
An impact on mental health
Unlike other parts of the nervous system, olfactory cells are renewed regularly, every few months. This regeneration protects against damage caused by toxins, infections or trauma. But some infections such as COVID-19 can lasting this function permanently. The total smell of smell, called anosmia, affects approximately 5 % of the world’s population, while 15 to 20 % suffer from a partial loss (hyposmy) – figures that could be even higher from the pandemic. However, losing smell can affect social and personal relationships, by modifying, for example, culinary experiences or sexual desire. In the elderly, this loss is also linked to an increased risk of depression and even mortality.
Snorate and neurodegenerative disease?
The olfactory meaning can also be an early indicator of neurodegenerative diseases, recalls Lynn Nazareth. A loss of smell can precede the symptoms of diseases like Alzheimer or Parkinson by several years. Many tend to ignore their gradual smell of smell, while it is detectable thanks to simple tests carried out at home (with products such as coffee or soap) or in specialized health centers. However, identifying this smell problem early could drastically improve the management of these diseases.
It would even be possible, according to the researcher, to re -educate her smell after a loss to recover it, at least a part. Tested for the first time in 2009, this “Olfactory training” Helps reorganize nerve connections and can improve smell, as well as mood and cognitive functions, especially in the elderly or dementia.
