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Smell
- 1. smell Caroline Brown Rest of You November 9, 2009
- 2. you smell.
- 5. how do you smell?
- 6. how do you smell?
- 7. memory "No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through my whole body, and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me. An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses...with no suggestion of its origin...
- 8. Smell you later, piglet
Editor's Notes
- 1. Close your eyes 2. Smell the contents of the jar in front of you (nothing’s toxic, not everything smells good to everybody) 3. Take note of any emotions or memories that are evoked (e.g. skunk: eww, disgusted, then laugh-- reminds me of parents) 4. Imagine how you would describe the smell to someone who had never smelled it before (skunk: funky, sour, gasoline...)
- Everyone has trouble describing smells. Some people have tried to develop smell classification systems.
- But none of these systems have been very successful. Zwaardemaker even built this device to help him study and classify smells.
- Every time we inhale, currents of air swirl up through our nostrils to area about the size of a small postage stamp: the olfactory epithelium: Moist, covered with clean mucous. Contains millions of olfactory receptor neurons. Tiny cilia extending from them. Base of the neurons sunk in olfactory bulb Cilia project directly into the atmosphere. Part of your brain is waving around in the air! I could stick my finger up your nose... Cilia contain olfactory receptors, specialized proteins that bind low molecular weight molecules (odorants). Theory: each receptor has a pocket just the right shape to bind a specific molecule or a group of structurally similar molecules. Right molecule + right receptor = receptor changes shape + electrical signal that goes first to the olfactory bulb, then to areas of brain that convert the electrical signal to a smell. sooo...
- you smell, and sometimes remember or feel, before your brain identifies the smell. olfactory bulb = part of limbic system (controls moods and emotions, facilitates formation/storage/retrieval of memories-- includes hippocampus, which we’ll get to later) overlap of circuits to manage olfaction and memory which is why...
- memories evoked by odor are more emotionally loaded than some other senses odor-cued memories are often encountered less frequently, take us unaware, more intense odors evoke older memories (in part because we often encounter scents for the first time as children -- make strong connections for learning on early contact) memory for odors decays more slowly than for other senses connections between smell and memory: applications for learning remember hippocampus? thought to be scratch-pad of memory, where we put new things until, while we’re sleeping, they can be filed for long-term storage. odor seems to have a strong effect on hippocampus study: scent of rose applied during learning, and again during slow-wave sleep helped test subjects to solidify memories.
- other ways we use smell: pheromones, taste, safety. yes, this picture’s about swine flu, but humor me.