Library · Physiology
Smell and memory
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A smell can drop you right back in your grandmother's kitchen. That is not poetry, it is wiring.
When you smell something, the signal is carried by second-order neurons called mitral cells. Those cells project to the piriform cortex, the amygdala and the entorhinal cortex. That route explains everything: through its connection with the limbic system, smell ends up intertwined with emotion and memory.
And there is one detail that sounds strange: olfactory hallucinations, perceived smells that are not really there, also occur with hippocampal lesions or in psychosis.
In brief
The primary olfactory cortex communicates with cortical and limbic structures that integrate smell with memory and emotion.
Smell enters through a door that opens onto the floor where emotions and memories live.
Second-order mitral cells project along the olfactory tracts to the piriform cortex, the amygdala and the entorhinal cortex.
Because of that link to the limbic system, smells become intertwined with emotions and memories.
Olfactory hallucinations also occur with hippocampal lesions or in psychosis.
Sources (2)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingNeuroanatomy, Cranial Nerve 1 (Olfactory), StatPearlsPublished
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingPhysiology, Olfactory, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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