Psychology Facts

▼ Smell ▼

》The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste.

》The sense of smell is closely linked with memory, probably more so than any of our other senses.  Those with full olfactory function may be able to think of smells that evoke particular memories; the scent of an orchard in blossom conjuring up recollections of a childhood picnic, for example.

》Sensory neurons in the nose detect odor molecules and relay signals to the olfactory bulb, a structure in the forebrain where initial odor processing occurs. The olfactory bulb primarily transmits information to the piriform cortex, the main structure of the olfactory cortex, for more comprehensive processing.

》On a more personal level, smell is extremely important when it comes to attraction between two people.  Research has shown that our body odour, produced by the genes which make up our immune system, can help us subconsciously choose our partners

》Kissing is thought by some scientists to have developed from sniffing; that first kiss being essentially a primal behaviour during which we smell and taste our partner to decide if they are a match.

》The sense of smell is the first of all our senses to develop. Even before we are born, our sense of smell is fully formed and functioning

》The sense of smell peaks when we are in our late teens and begins a gradual decline.

》A woman's sense of smell is much stronger than a man's. It is heightened even more in the first half of the menstrual cycle and reaches its peak when she is most fertile.

》The human brain can process roughly 10,000 smells in an area the size of a postage stamp, each triggering a neural response.

》You can smell feelings of fear and disgust through sweat, and then you can experience the same emotions, according to a 2012 study published in the Pyschological Science Journal.

》About 5% of the population is anosmic, which means that they cannot spell. Imagine that your food just doesn't taste of anything apart from a bit sweet and a bit salty.

》We all have our 'scent blind spots', smells which we cannot pick up. This means that we all smell things differently, and the scents we enjoy are entirely unique to us.

》When pregnant, a woman's sense of smell becomes heightened and hypersensitive. It's thought that this heightened sense of smell could be the reason behind the strange food cravings of pregnant women.

》Sufferers of cacosmia will only detect disgusting scents, and even those traditional smells (freshly-baked bread et al) will smell like vomit or waste to these poor individuals.

》Some scientists believe there are seven different main smells – musky, putrid, pungent, camphoraceous (similar to mothballs), ethereal, floral and minty.

》If we smell something we find pleasant, it can have a positive effect on the mind and help to lift our mood.