為什么氣味會引發(fā)如此生動的記憶?

為什么氣味會引發(fā)如此生動的記憶?

The smell of a newly mowed lawn may take back to your childhood days tumbling in the backyard. Maybe catching a whiff of a certain perfume instantly reminds you of your mom.

剛修剪過的草坪的氣味可能會讓你回想起在后院翻滾的童年時光。也許聞到某種香水的味道會讓你立刻想起你的媽媽。

Some scents give you a strong emotional rush. (Photo: mimagephotography/Shutterstock)

Why do smells have the power to trigger such strong memories? The answer is in your brain.

為什么氣味能激發(fā)如此強烈的記憶?答案就在你的腦子里。

Normally, when you hear, see, touch or taste something, that information goes to the thalamus. It then sends it to the important areas in the brain, including the amygdala and hippocampus.

正常情況下，當你聽到、看到、觸摸或品嘗某樣東西時，這些信息會進入丘腦。然后將其發(fā)送到大腦的重要區(qū)域，包括杏仁核和海馬體。

But it's a whole different ballgame with smells. They skip the thalamus and head right to the olfactory bulb, which helps the brain process odors. The olfactory bulb is directly connected to the amygdala and hippocampus, Curiosity points out.

但這是一場完全不同的關于氣味的比賽。它們跳過丘腦，直接進入嗅球，幫助大腦處理氣味。好奇號指出，嗅球直接與杏仁核和海馬體相連。

This immediate link might explain why a smell can instantly trigger a vivid memory. Although humans are so visually oriented, it's interesting that smells would have such an impact in the brain.

這種直接的聯(lián)系也許可以解釋為什么一種氣味可以立即引發(fā)生動的記憶。雖然人類是視覺導向的，但有趣的是氣味會對大腦產(chǎn)生如此大的影響。

Emotions, not memories

情緒,而不是記憶

If you experience it in an unfamiliar context, a familiar smell may trigger emotions, but not memories. (Photo: Kusmartsev Volodymyr/Shutterstock)

Interestingly, sometimes a smell will trigger strong emotions, but you may not actually recall the memory behind those feelings.

有趣的是，有時一種氣味會引發(fā)強烈的情緒，但你可能并不記得這些情緒背后的記憶。

Sometimes the memory behind the emotional response never resurfaces. You just feel the feelings of whatever happened, but don't remember what you experienced, Rachel Herz, an adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University in Rhode Island, tells LiveScience.

有時，情緒反應背后的記憶永遠不會重現(xiàn)。你只是感覺到了所發(fā)生的一切，卻不記得你經(jīng)歷了什么。Rachel Herz是羅德島布朗大學精神病學和人類行為的副教授，她告訴LiveScience。

If you smell a long-lost scent when you're walking down the street and it's something you used to smell in your home growing up, for example, it will be difficult to place because you're experiencing it in a different situation. You'll still feel an emotional rush, but you might not have the associated memories.

比如，你在街上走的時候聞到一種久違的味道，而這種味道是你在家里長大時聞到的，那么你就很難把它放在什么地方，因為你是在一個不同的環(huán)境中體驗到的。你仍然會感到情緒激動，但你可能沒有相關的記憶。

Words versus smells

詞匯和氣味

The smell of apple pie might instantly remind you of grandma, but the words don't have the same effect. (Photo: Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock)

Researchers have found that smells invoke more memories than the words that describe those smells. For example, the scent of a freshly baked apple pie might immediately zip you back to your grandmother's kitchen. But just hearing someone say "apple pie," might not give you the same trip down memory lane.

研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，氣味比描述氣味的詞匯更能喚起記憶。例如，新鮮出爐的蘋果派的香味可能會立刻把你拉回祖母的廚房。但是，僅僅聽到有人說“蘋果派”，可能不會給你同樣的回憶。

In one study published in the journal Neuropsychologia, researchers found that memories triggered by a scent resulted in much more activity in the brain's limbic system than memories accompanied by just a word without any accompanying smell. So, for example, people responded much more emphatically when they smelled a rose than when they just heard the word "rose."

在發(fā)表在《神經(jīng)心理學》雜志上的一項研究中，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，由氣味觸發(fā)的記憶在大腦邊緣系統(tǒng)中的活動要比只伴隨著一個沒有任何氣味的單詞的記憶活躍得多。例如，當人們聞到玫瑰時，他們的反應要比聽到“玫瑰”這個詞時強烈得多。

Merely hearing the word didn't conjure up the emotional response and memories as the immediate visceral reaction triggered by the scent.

僅僅是聽到這個詞，并沒有像聞到氣味時立即的本能反應那樣喚起情感反應和記憶。

"Smells do bring back memories," Dr. Ken Heilman, professor of neurology and health psychology at the University of Florida, tells NBC News. "Smell goes into the emotional parts of the brain and the memory parts, whereas words go into thinking parts of the brain."

“氣味確實能喚起記憶，”佛羅里達大學神經(jīng)學和健康心理學教授肯·海爾曼博士告訴NBC新聞。“嗅覺進入大腦的情感部分和記憶部分，而語言則進入大腦的思考部分。”