Selin Hekimoglu/ Staff reporter
The human brain allows connections to be made between different scents and specific memories.
According to Psychology and Smell by Fifth Sense, smell is the sense most closely related to memory compared to the others.
Marcel Proust was a French novelist from the 1920’s who was interested in understanding why some senses could trigger certain memories.
One day when Proust took a bite into a tea-soaked madeleine, he instantly recalled special memories from his childhood. “The whole of Combray and of its surroundings sprang into being, town and gardens alike, all from my cup of tea,” he says, making sure to capture the essence of his memory that was sparked by his cup of tea.
Proust’s research created the Proustian effect, which is defined as “an involuntary, sensory induced, emotional reliving of events from the past.”
One thing to admire about this ability is that memories that were once lost can now be remembered.
“Sometimes there is that certain smell in the air that just randomly takes me back to my childhood,” Maya Wong, a grade 11 student explains. “When I smell my perfumes, I get reminded of how my life was during the time I wore them. It’s an unusual but nostalgic feeling.”
According to a Standford study done by Clinical Neurology Specialists, the capability of the human brain is practically endless. The brain holds 86 billion neurons and has a memory storage that could retain 4.7 million books.
The areas of the brain that control smell, memory, and emotions are all related to one another which is why certain smells can trigger emotions. Often these memories are ones that are less thought about, making the recollection very vivid.
“The times where I am reminded of something by a smell is usually a very bittersweet moment for me,” Carmel Kiani, a grade 11 student from Heritage Woods secondary school says. “I feel surprised when it happens, because I can’t believe that memories are kept so distinct from one another just by smell.”
It is underestimated just how much information the brain can really store, which is why it is such an unusual experience when year old memories unexpectedly come flooding in.
Sources:
Human brain can store 4.7 billion books- ten times more than originally thought
Why do smells trigger strong memories?
The Proust Effect: The Senses as Doorways to Lost Memories
What is the Memory Capacity of a Human Brain?
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