Smell and Memory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjBOel3A6n4

The video above is a discussion of how memory and sense of smell is linked to one another. Have you ever wondered why certain smells trigger past events in your life? As touched on in the video, a general view is that chlorine reminds one of the pool and pine reminds one of Christmas trees. These memories, in turn, causes one to recall specific moments in, for examples, swimming in pools and decorating trees. The memories could be as simple as summer days at the pool club, or a harsh as drowning. These smells could then trigger happy or frightening moments in life, which would then either make you want to smell more of this scent, or less of it, depending on the memory it is associated with. Memories are triggered by the olfactory system and it's million receptor types throughout the brain. It is very close to the hippocampus, which is crucial for creating new memories.When the hippocampus becomes damaged, your ability to identify smells starts to vanish. Also, because of all the smells one has encountered in his or her lifetime, it actually is not possible to label or "name" each smell! The human memory seems to be too strong for our categorical naming system.