Smell and Memory

Today some smell which i couldnt quite put my finger on..reminded me of Vicky and Lambo buying tshirts while Ammu, Bro and I wait outside the shop...at the Batu Feringgi night market. Very weird but, this is kind of a norm where many scents reminds you of a particular part of your memory so fresh that even you would not believe that you remember it that well!

My first and foremost memory of my recent visit to India, which I dont think i will ever forget is the smell..when we first got into the Ambassador car outside the airport and i was sticking my head out of the window and i could smell... hmmmm..the earthy smell, the mixture of dust, masala, cow dug and jasmine!

Of course, there are certain smell like a certain 'flavour' of Ambi Pure which gives a cold shiver whenever i come across it as it gives me certain bad memories of some people in the past.

I've always found it fascinating that smell can trigger memories so i decided to read on it..

'...the olfactory bulb is part of the brain's limbic system, an area so closely associated with memory and feeling it's sometimes called the "emotional brain," smell can call up memories and powerful responses almost instantaneously. The olfactory bulb has intimate access to the amygdala, which processes emotion, and the hippocampus, which is responsible for associative learning. Despite the tight wiring, however, smells would not trigger memories if it weren't for conditioned responses. When you first smell a new scent, you link it to an event, a person, a thing or even a moment. Your brain forges a link between the smell and a memory. When you encounter the smell again, the link is already there, ready to elicit a memory or a mood.' (source)

Simply put..the smell nerve is close to an area associated with memory and feeling. Hence, the connection.