How Our Sense of Smell Enhances the Flavors We Taste

 

Have you ever noticed how food loses its flavor when you have a stuffy nose? That is because our sense of smell plays a crucial role in how we perceive taste. While our taste buds can detect basic flavors like sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and savory,  it is our olfactory system that brings the full spectrum of flavors to life. This fascinating interplay between taste and smell shows just how connected our senses are, making each meal a rich sensory experience.

When we eat, aromatic compounds from the food travel up to our olfactory receptors at the back of our nasal cavity, even while chewing with our mouths closed. This process is known as retronasal olfaction and allows our brain to combine information from both our taste buds and our sense of smell to create a complete flavor profile. Without this olfactory input, many foods would taste bland. For instance, the intricate flavors of a rich, savory stew or a complex, fruity wine would be significantly muted without our sense of smell enhancing the experience. Up to 80% of what we taste is actually derived from our sense of smell. Understanding the role of smell in taste can change the way we appreciate food and drink. Chefs and food scientists often exploit this connection by enhancing dishes with aromatic herbs, spices, and other ingredients that stimulate our olfactory senses. This not only improves the overall dining experience but also explains why certain foods pair well together. For example, the reason why wine and cheese make such a delightful combination lies in the complementary aromatic compounds that enhance their respective flavors. 

Shepherd, G. M. (2012). Neurogastronomy: How the Brain Creates Flavor and Why It Matters. Columbia University Press.

https://books.google.com/books/Neurogastronomy.html?id=gEigoDUBvA4C

https://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/your-sense-of-taste

The Fascinating World of Olfactophilia

Have you ever wondered why certain smells make you feel a certain way? For some people, specific body odors, especially from intimate areas, can be incredibly arousing. This phenomenon, known as olfactophilia or osmolagnia, is a lesser-known paraphilia where individuals get sexually excited by the scents emanating from the body. While it might sound unusual, it highlights just how powerful and influential our sense of smell can be in our daily lives and intimate moments. 

Our noses are closely linked to the parts of our brain that process emotions and memories. This means that a particular scent can bring back vivid memories or stir strong feelings. For those with olfactophilia, the smell of a partner's skin, sweat, or other natural body odors can trigger intense sexual arousal. Studies have shown that smells play a big role in attraction and mate selection, hinting at our primal instincts. According to research by Herz and Cahill (1997), olfactory cues are significant in human sexual behavior and attraction. This demonstrates that our noses can guide our romantic and sexual preferences more than we might realize. Despite its rarity, olfactophilia shows the diverse ways in which people experience desire. While society often overlooks or stigmatizes body odors, understanding and acknowledging this paraphilia can help us appreciate the rich layers of human sexuality. By fostering a more inclusive and open-minded view of sexual diversity, we can better understand and respect the many ways in which people find, create and build connections. So next time you catch a whiff of a familiar scent, remember that our sense of smell is a powerful force and very capable of unlocking deep responses.

Herz, R. S., & Cahill, E. D. (1997). Differential use of sensory information in sexual behavior as a function of gender. Human Nature, 8(3), 275-286.

The Tadoma Method

The Tadoma Method of communication is a unique and tactile way for deafblind individuals to connect and communicate with others. Developed in the 1920s by Sophia Alcorn, Tadoma involves a deafblind person placing their thumb on a speaker's lips and spreading their fingers along the speaker's face and neck. Through this method, communication is transmitted via vibrations, jaw movements, and facial expressions. This allows the user to understand speech by feeling its physical manifestations. Despite being very challenging and time-consuming to learn, Tadoma has proven successful for many, with fluent users able to comprehend up to forty words per minute. Tad Chapman and Oma Simpson, Alcorn's initial students, helped demonstrate the method's potential and made it a prominent communication technique at the Perkins School for the Blind during a period when oral education was highly valued in American Deaf education.

However, the dominance of the Tadoma method began to wane in the 1950s due to its difficulty and the often-inaccurate communication it provided. Today, Tadoma is not used by many worldwide and half of those users reside in the United States. In contrast, American Sign Language (ASL) has become much more widely adopted by the deafblind community. ASL for the deafblind involves the individual resting their hands on the signer's hands, effectively "feeling" the signs being made. While ASL presents its own set of challenges, such as slower comprehension, difficulty distinguishing questions from statements, and confusion between similar-feeling signs, these can be mitigated through techniques like fingerspelling and contextual clarification. Both Tadoma and ASL require significant skill and adaptation, showcasing the resilience and ingenuity of the deafblind community in overcoming communication barriers. The progress of deafblind individuals in mastering these methods continues to inspire and impress people around the globe.

https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/topics/tadoma.htm

http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~rosenblu/book/SeeWhatImSayingBook2/SeeWhatImSayingBook/Chapter7.html

Echolocation

    Echolocation is a process where emitting sounds can help one determine the location and size of objects that can not be seen. The brain uses the emitted sound and the received sound to determine how far away an object is. Blind people can use this to help them in navigating around a room for example. Seeing people also have this ability and they don't even know it. If we close our eyes, we can still perceive the things around us even though we can't see them. Many animals use this as well to be able to locate objects around them in the dark. 

    Animals like whales, dolphins, or bats use echolocation to navigate but also to hunt prey. Toothed whales do not have a traditional external ear canal so they use this process a little differently. They have an acoustic window towards the back of their jaw that allows them to still use this process. This acoustic window is a thin area of bone and a fat pad that receives the returning sound and sends it to the inner ear. The whale is able to use this sound to determine how far away the prey is and they can also determine what species the sound bounced off of. 

    This process is so similar to how humans use echolocation yet so different. All of the internal processes are the same and the brain is working in similar ways. However, the method of how the sound gets to the the brain to be processed is so different. It is interesting to be see how the same process can be used in such different ways.

https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/marine-mammals/evolution-echolocation

Phantom Pain

  
 Phantom pain, as described in the book, is a phenomenon of intense discomfort reported by amputees in their missing limb. It was previously believed that this pain came from damage to nerve endings in the remaining portion of the limb but that has since been proven incorrect. Instead, it is now classified as an issue with brain plasticity and how the brain has rewired following amputation. The book also states that when the brains touch region is reassigned to a further body part, individuals experience more intense phantom limb pain.

    To go about treating this phenomenon, doctors may prescribe many different types of medications or they may recommend over the counter pain medication. Additionally, there are other treatment therapies that could be helpful in reducing pain. One of the most interesting of these therapies being mirror therapy. The way this works is a lower limb amputee may sit with a mirror mimicking the existing limb to trick the brain into thinking both legs still remain on the body. This sounds like it would never work but it has been proven to show significant benefit to those with phantom limb pain. Below is an image of how the mirror therapy is done.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK448188/#:~:text=Phantom%20limb%20pain%20is%20the,underlying%20pathophysiology%20remains%20poorly%20understood.

Enhancing Mimicry through Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) has emerged as a promising tool in studying and enhancing mimicry, the automatic imitation of observed actions. TMS involves using magnetic fields to create transient brain lesions, allowing researchers to temporality disrupt specific brain areas and observe the effects on behaviors. It's a noninvasive procedure at it is done without using surgery or cutting the skin (Mayo Clinic, n.d.). This type of procedure is used to stimulate nerves cells in the brain, and "resets" the brain networks that regulate mood. According to Catmur et al. (2009), a study has shown that TMS can influence the motor cortex, thereby affecting mimicry responses. By applying TMS to the motor regions, researchers have gained insights into the neural mechanisms underlying the imitation of facial expressions and gestures. 

The potential of TMS in enhancing our understanding of mimicry is truly captivating. The ability to pinpoint and manipulate specific brain regions offers a unique glimpse into the complex interplay, between observation and action. While the ethical considerations and potential risks associated with TMS, the benefits in advancing our knowledge of social cognition and rehabilitation are significant. I find the application of TMS in this context to be a powerful reminded of how cutting edge neuroscience can shed light on the fundamental process that helps with human interactions. 

References 

Catmur, C., Walsh V., & Heyes, C. (2009). Associative sequence learning: The role of experience in the development of imitaion and the mirror system. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological sciences, 364(1528), 2369-2380.

Mayo Clinic. (n.d.). Transcranial magnetic stimulation. Tests & Procedures. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/transcranial-magnetic-stimulation/about/pac-20384625#:~:text=Overview,surgery%20or%20cutting%20the%20skin.

Unlocking the Power of Lip Reading through Intensive Speech Therapy

    Intensive speech therapy can significantly enhance lip-reading skills, transforming how individuals with hearing impairment communication. Speech therapy focuses on improving the visual perception of speech by training individuals to recognize subtle movements of the lips, tongue, and facial expressions. Studies, such as by Bernstein et al. (2017), have shown how a structured and repetitive practice in lip reading can lead to better speech comprehension. By utilizing audiovisual speech training techniques, therapists help clients synchronize auditory and visual cues, that result in more accurate speech perception in even noisy environments. 

    The benefits of intensive speech therapy in lip reading are profound. I find it fascinating how therapy not only bridges the communication gap but empowers these individuals with hearing impairments, giving them confidence and independence. While others may argue on the topic of hearing aids, I believe that having the combination of technology and therapy offers a more holistic approach to communication. As we can see how scientific advancement's and therapeutic interventions can significantly improve the quality of life for those with hearing challenges, making everyday interactions more accessible and enjoyable. 

References

Bernstein, L.E., Auer, E. T., & Moore, J. K. (2017). Audiovisual Speech Perception. In the handbook of psycholinguistics (pp. 609-622). John Wiley & Sons. 

Pareidolia

Pareidolia is the term for the phenomena that happens when people see patterns in seemingly unconnected things, including faces, animals, or objects on clouds and rock formations. It is not a clinical diagnosis, nor is it a disorder. Information from any source can be interpreted by the human brain naturally. Due to the way our brains are wired to recognize and process facial features, we regularly see faces or important patterns when none are there.

This phenomenon explains why patterns in tree bark, constellations, or toast patterns can appear to individuals as faces. I thought this was incredibly interesting because it never occured to me that there was a name for this experience. The concept of pareidolia highlights how our minds constantly scan our surroundings for patterns and significant information, often leading us to perceive well-known shapes and forms when none are present. Psychology and neuroscience have been interested in this phenomenon because it provides insights into how our innate cognitive processes affect our perception.

References:

https://sites.uw.edu/libraryvoices/2024/02/03/pareidolia-the-phenomenon-of-seeing-faces-everywhere/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/pareidolia 

ASMR

Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a sensory-emotional phenomena that can be defined by the sensation of paresthesia, or a "tingling" or static-like feeling. In recent years, ASMR has been increasingly popular among younger generations and the media culture, despite a lack of scientific research on this phenomena. A person may experience tingling in other body parts such as the upper back, scalp, or neck. The experience is in response to specific audio, visual, or tactile stimuli, or even generated by intentional attention control. Whispering, quiet speech, tapping, scratching, subtle hand gestures, and close personal attention are some examples of these triggers (Barratt and Davis 2015).

In those who are susceptible to ASMR, it may be concluded that ASMR lessens depressive symptoms. Moreover, whether or not a person is susceptible to ASMR, watching ASMR videos lowers their heart rate. Furthermore, EEG recordings from studies demonstrate that ASMR videos increase beta power while decreasing alpha and theta power. These findings may support the theory that ASMR is associated with arousal and a type of concentrated attention, such as a "state of flow" or absorption. Since I prefer to watch these videos because they help me relax and enter a trance state, I really enjoyed learning about ASMR and its effects.

Reference: 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9142458/ 

How Smell Triggers Memories

 Odor has been shown to trigger memory in a Harvard Medical School lab study on how animals utilize their senses to interpret the environment. The article describes how our ancient ancestors used their sense of smell to map out their environment and recall past locations. The relationship between olfactory sensory neurons in the brain, which provide electrical impulses to various regions of the brain through axons, and human noses' odor receptors is demonstrated by physiology.

 These signals travel to multiple parts of the brain that are involved in learning, emotion, and memory. The olfactory, or piriform cortex, identifies smells; the amygdala, which generates emotion; and the hippocampus, stores and organizes memories. The hippocampus can file and preserve information forever if it believes that the smell is significant, for example, if it is associated with a very emotional occasion. The same smell might evoke strong memories and emotional resonance decades after the event.

The thalamus of the brain is the first region that sights, sounds, and other sensory data must pass through in order to reach the amygdala and hippocampus. On the other hand, the information is explained to the memory and emotion centers via the olfactory system, which is located directly next to them. I found it fascinating that this could be the reason behind research showing that odor-evoked memories are more likely to be emotional and to date back further in life than memories induced by other senses.

Reference: 
https://magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/connections-between-smell-memory-and-health

Anosmia-Effects of Covid-19

    Anosmia is the loss of sense of smell. People unconsciously smell everything around them including people, nature, and gasses in the air. Because this is an unconscious process, it is hard to understand how much smell plays a role in our life until it is gone. People can have this condition naturally but cases really spiked through Covid-19. 

    Anosmia was a one of the most common symptoms of the disease and greatly impacted the quality of life of those infected with Covid-19. Not only does it diminish the effect of smell but it also lessens the taste of food because the two are so connected. This can lead to detrimental effects of malnutrition and weight loss because people stopped eating when they could not enjoy their meals. 

    A majority of people infected with the disease experience temporary anosmia. Anosmia is a pretty uncommon symptom for other respiratory diseases so this symptom was used heavily in preliminary diagnoses of Covid-19. Thankfully, anosmia as a symptom of Covid-19 was mostly temporary, not leaving long term effects, however, like people with long term anosmia, it severely impacted peoples quality of the life during the experience.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9798353/#:~:text=Anosmia%20may%20occur%20in%20the,electronic%20health%20records%20%5B18%5D. 

Bone Conduction

 Bone Conduction 

Have you ever wondered how deaf people can perceive music? Those with conductive hearing loss, can perceive music through bone conduction. This can be done by the phenomenon known as Bone conduction (BC) as “vibration are transmitted through the bones of the skill to the cochlea and the associated sensorineural structures resulting in the perception of sound” (Brandt & Winters, 2023, para.1). That required an external audio processor to pick up the sound vibrations to transmit them, bone conduction hearing devices (BCHDs) helps those with this phenomenon, as it sends sound vibrations through the skull’s bones directly to the inner ear, essentially bypassing the middle ear and eardrum. 

Bone conduction hearing device has only recently gained traction in the electronics market. As its unlike traditional earbuds or air conduction headphones it, allows the user to remain aware of their surroundings while enjoying music or activities. They are adjustable headpieces that are worn around the back of the head.  Most bone conduction headphone manufactures opt to place the stimulus on the jawbone onto the mastoid stimulus, which is believes to offer a clearer and most consistent signal for optimal bone conduction stimulation. I found this concept interesting as this allows for people to hear in a more natural way, as we ourselves can hear own voice. It offers a way to transmit audio while keeping your ear canals open, with technology constantly improving this auditory method can only be improved from here. 

References 

Brant, P, J, Winters, R. (2023). Bone Conduction Evaluation. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK578177/

Proxy touch

 Proxy touch is when you use an object to feel or sense another object and is something that we subconsciously do all the time. Brushing our teeth, a blind person using a cane, or even like the book says, buttering your toast are all examples of proxy touch. We use an objects to feel and sense things that allow use to determine how much or little force to use or even when something is wide enough for us to fit through or to steep for us to climb. The book states that "our accuracy using proxy touch would be comparable to that for vison" which goes to show how important this aspect is in our daily lives. 

The book also gives the example of expert fly fisherman Rick Passek and how his use of proxy touch makes him an amazing fisherman. Rick uses proxy touch to sense the vibrations of the fish through the fishing line and rod and he is able to do so so accurately  that he can tell the fishes movements, what type of fish is hooked, and even the age and gender of that fish, all through a fishing pole.  I'm not a fisherman but my learning about proxy touch made me think of my own experiences with it. I'm a big cooker in my house and cooking is pretty much all proxy touch. You feel when something is done and ready using tongs or you can feel when a sauce or soup is to thin or thick using a ladle. I love learning concepts like this because it makes me go back and think of all the times I've applied these aspects to my daily life.

Pheromones

 

                                                                What are pheromones? 

    Pheromones are substances that are secreted to the outside by an individual and it is received by another individual of the same species. There is so much research behind the idea of pheromones with animals but some time ago I heard about pheromones through Tik Tok. There was this pheromone perfume going around and it claimed; women who wear this oil/perfume, their significant other will be significantly more attracted to them and they will "fall" more in love and become more sexual. I have no idea if this perfume is proven to be true but it was very interesting to see that this topic was in our book. 

    In animals, releaser pheromones seem to induce immediate behavioral changes such as sexual responses in animals. The book goes on to talk about how this will revolutionize the perfume industry. It says that it can influence sexual behaviors in animals, so imagine this occurring in humans. Or there could even be different perfumes for different emotions such as fear which can make us stay away. It has been proven that many different stores, use a specific odor to entice customers to buy more things in their store or a furniture store making it seem more like a home with a certain odor or spray. I find this concept very interesting because it is true for me, if a store smells good such as Hollister back a few years ago, I wanted to buy anything and everything. 

Echolocation

 

Echolocation

Echolocation is a technique that is used by some animals to determine the location of different objects in the world around them. I had heard about echolocation before in dolphins. I know dolphins make noises in order to figure out where other dolphins were. There are many different animals that use echolocation such as dolphins, bats, whales, and narwhals. 

After reading chapter one of our book, I was about to learn more about echolocation and I had no idea that even we humans are able to use echolocation. Karl Dallenbach created an experiment where four subjects (two blind and two sighted) were asked to perform a task blindfolded towards a large masonite board and stop right before making contact. After doing these experiments, it was realized that humans can use echolocation just like bats. It is used by humans to be able to hear more detailed properties about objects. Humans have the ability to identify the general shape of an object and even the material of the object by using echolocation. I think this is such an extraordinary skill that animals have and its so cool that humans also use it.  

Anosmia

 

    Anosmia is the loss of the sense of smell through a head injury, infection or a blockage of the nose. Anosmia can be partial or it can be a total loss of smell. In our book, we read about Karl Wuensch who lost his sense of smell. He realized when he was eating a casserole which had gone bad and his family realized how bad it had gone but he had no idea. And later on, he had already lost his sense of smell where he couldn't even smell propane outside until his wife and son had noticed. He worked through a lot of research to find a cure or find some help for anosmia. 

    I had COVID-19 in the winter of 2021. It was a whole new experience of me getting sick because I had never lost my sense of smell before and this freaked me out. I realized I couldn't smell anything or taste anything while I was showering and I couldn't smell my favorite body wash. I was trying my hardest to inhale it and nothing. I was so freaked out, I had no idea what to do. That week that I couldn't smell anything was when I realized how much I take smelling for granted. I couldn't eat any food because I had no taste either and I did not want to eat without having taste. 

    After losing my sense of smell, there are a lot of smells and tastes that don't taste the same as before. It feels like some things are bitter now which I used to enjoy before or some smells make me nauseous. Anosmia is such a scary thing for me because I had no idea it was a problem that affected so many people and there isn't an exact cure for it. I remember looking up everything possible to get my sense of smell back. 

Anosmia

 Anosmia is the loss of sense or smell from a head injury, infection, or blockage of the nose. It can be partial which is called hyposmia or total which is called anosmia. Without a sense of taste food will become bland and it would be hard to tell foods apart. This causes loss of interest in food which in extreme cases will led to weight loss, nutrition problems and even depression. People also have a unique smell like Karl Wuensch explains, which is what he misses most, not being able to smell his friends and family. 

I think most of us experienced COVID-19 and had our taste buds what felt like ripped out from us but I remember when I have COVID a few months ago I had lost my taste and it effected me greatly. I love to cook so not be able to taste any food was the biggest blow. I had trouble eating because eating food truly is boring if you cant taste anything, so I found it hard to just have the will power to force myself to eat. I only was sick and had COVID for a few days but I didn't get my taste back until 2 weeks later and during all of this I was reading stories about how people lost taste permanently after COVID and it made my anxiety sky rocket. Luckily my taste came back and I haven't had any problems since but I will no longer take any of my senses for granted. 

Life of a Sommelier

 A sommelier is a French term used for a wine steward or someone who is professionally trained in wine and wine pairings. They work along side top restaurants and chefs so that these culinary teams have the best possible wine with their food that best complement each other. Professional sommeliers must go through a combination of experience, training, and formal education that takes years and costs thousands of dollars but in order to become a "Master Sommelier", a professional must go to the Court of Master Sommeliers where they will need to pass a multitude of tests that include things like knowing the exact grape a wine is using, where and what region these grapes were grown in, and even how long the wine has aged for, all while being timed. 

I had absolutory no idea that wine was this serious in some parts of the world. I knew that expert wine tasters were a thing, but I didn't know that there was an even more prestigious title of wine tasters that requires years of training and to be able to pass timed exams. Some sources differ a tiny bit, but as of 2017 there are only 250 people around the world that have the diploma of  Master Sommelier and it was created in 1969. These individuals have truly honed all there senses.  

Anosmia and COVID-19

    

     Anosmia, or the loss of the sense of smell, has been recognized as one of the symptoms associated with COVID-19. Many individuals infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, have reported experiencing a sudden and temporary loss of their sense of smell. The exact mechanism behind anosmia in COVID-19 is not yet fully understood, but it is believed to be related to the virus's impact on the olfactory system. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is known to invade the cells of the nasal cavity and the olfactory epithelium, which contains the sensory receptors responsible for detecting odors. This invasion and resulting inflammation can lead to a disruption in the sense of smell.

    When I had COVID I did not recognize my loss of smell until the end of my symptoms. I realized my loss of smell when I was eating dinner at my parent's house and the food tasted off-not how it normally does. I came to the realization that I could not smell anything. My loss of smell had also affected my sense of taste, although my taste was still there it was altered. Weeks passed by and I still had not gained my sense of smell back. Quite honestly it was becoming a burden. 2 months have gone by and I have yet to gain my smell back and then by the third month my smell started to come back slowly and faintly. I gained compassion for people who had to go longer than three months.

Echolocation: How Sound Waves Work

 

Structured reflected sound is where sound waves are intentionally manipulated or shaped by objects in an environment, and the resulting echoes or reflections provide meaningful information about the properties of those objects. This process involves the interaction of sound waves with the surfaces, shapes, and materials of objects, which can lead to the identification of their size, shape, texture, distance, and other characteristics.

An example of how the brain uses structured reflected sound to perceive properties of silent objects can be found in echolocation used by certain animals, such as bats and dolphins. These animals emit high-frequency sound waves, often referred to as clicks or sonar pulses, into their environment. The sound waves travel through the air or water, and when they encounter objects, they bounce back as echoes. Humans are also able to use echolocation. According to our textbook,” Blind subjects are generally better at echolocating.”(Rosenblum, 2011).

By processing this information, they can determine the location, distance, and even the shape and texture of the objects in their surroundings. For instance, bats can navigate through complex environments and detect obstacles and prey. This ability showcases how the brain can use the structured reflected sound to create a mental representation of the objects in the environment, even without visuals.

Photo Link: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/echolocation

Verbal Overshadowing

 Verbal overshadowing refers to describing a nonverbal experience, which might impair
subsequent recognition. One study found that verbalizing a visual memory may produce a verbally biased memory representation that can interfere with the application of the original visual memory. This effect has real-life consequences, putting innocent people behind bars. One witness might describe the details of an incident one way and another witness another way. Elizabeth Loftus discovered this effect and the malleability of human memory.

This effect also occurs in tastes and smells, but does not seem to have an impact on sommeliers. They are able to identify a wine they just tasted and when asked to provide a verbal description of the wine after tasting it, their recognition skills are not impaired. This could be attributed to the years of training and use of conceptual knowledge. 

http://psychology.iresearchnet.com/forensic-psychology/eyewitness-memory/verbal-overshadowing/ 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2295225/

https://www.edge.org/response-detail/27092

Covid-Related Anosmia

 In See What I'm Saying, the author touches on anosmia, the loss of sense of smell. Karl Wuensch lost his ability to smell dangerous odors, food, and interestingly people. Wuench describes a phenomenon that we too became familiar with recently during the Covid pandemic. Many people who contracted Covid-19 reported symptoms of loss of smell but regained it after a while. There were even those who never regained their sense of smell or regained it but it did not work as it previously did. One study found that the loss of smell associated with COVID-19 may have links to an increased risk of depressed mood and anxiety.

Smell plays an important role in interactions with humans and eating, which Wuensch points out as an issue he struggles with. It is psychologically distressing constantly being unable to use a crucial sensory function. One article recorded responses from a few women saying:

                            

• "I mean, I can force myself to eat it, but it's not enjoyable like it used to be."
• "It's very, very, very uncomfortable, upsetting. Like I said, I really enjoy food. From going to love and enjoying the taste of food, I can't really enjoy or say I love food anymore."
• "It gets emotional too, because like I said, I cook a lot for my children. I got five children, I got two grandbabies and I cook a lot. But now it's like, I don't even want to cook. My cooking has changed because I can't smell or taste my food."

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/covid-19-linking-loss-of-smell-depression-and-anxiety 

https://consumer.healthday.com/b-10-26-how-folks-are-coping-with-post-covid-loss-of-smell-taste-2655363334.html

Dark Dining

 

Many of our senses come into play when it comes to eating food, from seeing a nicely presented meal, smelling the aromas in a wine, tasting the flavors of a steak, and hearing the sound of creme brulee breaking apart.

As mentioned in See What I’m Saying, the author describes the experience of dark dining, where people dine in a completely dark room. He described the food as tasting bland, which was odd to him since it was an upscale restaurant. One study found that without the use of vision, people consumed much more food than normal without realizing (Greenwood, 2023).

An interesting detail about dark dining is how it creates a relationship between sighted and blind/visually-impaired people. As one journal describes it: “ These dark phenomena are successful precisely because they do not try to simulate the experience of blindness for sighted people. Rather, they provide a setting or stage for enhanced contact and communication” (Saerberg, 2007).

https://dsq-sds.org/article/view/24/24 

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230411-what-dining-in-the-dark-does-to-your-tastebuds 

Biology of Smiling

 A smile can boost your emotional state because when you smile your brain releases neuropeptides that aid in fighting off stress. Also, neurotransmitters like dopamine, Serotonin and endorphins are also released which further leads to increased mood.

 

 It is mentioned in the text, “inhibiting facial reactions can dampen your reactions to emotional images” (Rosenblum, 2010, p. 191).  Meaning that when you restrain from facial reactions you actually bring your mood down.

 

In the book there was an experiment conducted, This experiment used a pen and it showed that when an individual held a pen between their teeth, their mouth was serendipitously put into a smile; so in return, the experimenters found that when they looked at the cartoons they were amused by versus when the individuals held the pen with their lips, their mouth was put into a frown and the experimenters found that the individuals found the cartoons less amusing.

 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-science-willpower/201208/smile-your-way-out-stress

Out of Body and Rubber Hand similarities

 An out-of-body experience is a sensation of being outside one's own body, typically by being able to observe oneself from a distance. Also known as ‘Autoscopy”, “Autoscopy is thought to be a rare phenomenon in which a person visualizes or experiences a veritable hallucinatory image of his double.” (Grostein, NIH.)

 This phenomenon is similar to the rubber hand illusion because, in chapter 6 “Rubber Bands and Rubber Brains,” an experiment was performed “To perform the experiment one sits in a chair with a pair of video goggles, the monitor in the goggles shows the back of you. There is a camera set up about five feet behind you and that is the image being fed to the goggles. The experimenter will then enter the room with two sticks and the experimenter will stand to your right. With his right hand, the experimenter strokes your chest, you can't see this, but you can feel it. With their left hand, they reach behind you and begin to stroke the air at a position just in front of and below the camera. As you are looking through your goggles you see your body from behind, but not the stokes because your body blocks the view. You can see the upper left arm of the experimenter as they stoke the air below the camera, and this is when it appears as if the arm that is stoking the air is actually the arm that is stroking your chest. Both experiments are similar in their efforts to make the perception that the body is feeling an actual sensation that one is not. 

Echolocation and Animals

     Echolocation is when animals to use reflective sound to figure out the location of an object. Using echolocation, animals are able to navigate through pitch black environments and avoid obstacles. There are many different animals that use echolocation to navigate such as bats, dolphins, and whales. To use this tool animals make a sound. Once they make a sound, they listen for the sound waves that are going to bounce off of their surroundings. The tighter the sound wave, the more information animals are able to pick up on. The tighter sound waves provide a more detailed picture of what is around them, or prey that they are attempting to hunt. 

    Many people with visual impairment have adapted to the use of echolocation and have developed this tool. Daniel Kish, the blind mountain bike rider uses echolocation to illustrate the world around him. This is useful for people who are unable to see because they can get a better picture of what is happening around them. It is helpful because like Daniel Kish, people can enjoy activities that they may have been told they could never do. 

Phantosmia

     Phantosmia is a medical condition where you are smelling odors that are not actually present. This experience can also be called an olfactory hallucination. Some of the smells you may smell are cigarette smoke, rubber, chemicals, or something rotting. Clearly this is not a very pleasant experience at all. The interesting thing about phantosmia is that it could be caused by many different things. Some causes could include nasal polyps, colds, allergies or sinus infections. There are also more serious things that could cause phantosmia such as stroke or a brain tumor. 

    This is something I have experienced since I was young due to migraines. There are periods of time where I constantly smell cigarette smoke, which honestly makes my life a little miserable. But there are things that help such as washing your nose out with a saline, such as using a neti pot. Or nose spray does seem to help as well when it becomes flared up by my allergies.