What kind of sense is smell
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.
This can often happen spontaneously, with a smell acting as a trigger in recalling a long-forgotten event or experience. In addition to being the sense most closely linked to memory, smell is also highly emotive. The perfume industry is built around this connection, with perfumers developing fragrances that seek to convey a vast array of emotions and feelings; from desire to power, vitality to relaxation. 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 — read more here. 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. And our vision overrides the sense of smell in a lot of situations. A study showed that we can distinguish at least 1 trillion different odors — up from previous estimates of a mere 10, Instead, information feeds from the nose to cortical areas to arouse emotions and memories without our awareness.
When it comes to smells, people can be influenced and not realize it. An animal schnoz is obviously superior to our own mediocre noses, right? Not so fast. People can tell you when a certain scent is no longer detectable. But each animal has to learn to associate a particular odor with a reward and then do something, like press a button, to let researchers know when they smell it.
The odors compared between species also have to be the same. That sounds obvious, but while humans have sniffed around 3, different scents for science — out of the trillions possible — the highest number for animals is 81, by spider monkeys. Laska only found solid enough data to compare humans with 17 species, all mammals. However, human noses held their own.
Humans tested as generally more sensitive sniffers than monkeys and rats on a limited range of odors. In fact, humans detected certain scents at lower concentrations than the notoriously top-notch nostrils of mice and pigs. Humans even beat the indomitable dog for at least a handful of scents.
These include aromas produced by plants, a logical evolutionary advantage for our ancestors seeking fruits. The majority of the odors in which dogs bested us were the fatty acids, compounds associated with their own meaty prey. It very well could be, according to a study by scientists in Portugal and Sweden. Researchers collected body odor samples from 20 male university students.
Other students then watched a video of an actual assault by a man on a woman to stir them emotionally , while sniffing a scent they were told was that of the suspect. In reality, it was the scent of one of the 20 male students. Results were quite impressive, though. Every person has a unique scent. Even trained sniffer dogs have a hard time distinguishing between identical twins, unless the twins are on different diets.
It could be from the apocrine sweat glands in the armpits, which produce odorless substances made smelly by skin bacteria. Human scent affects our brain differently than other scents. When we catch a whiff, the areas of the brain responsible for social processing light up, according to a study that used positron emission tomography PET to measure brain function.
Another reason you might be able to identify a criminal, or at least someone feeling agitated, is that he or she may simply smell dangerous. The men took a timed math test and were falsely told they had performed below average.
Disgruntled, they then participated in a workout where sweat was collected. About the Author. The molecular receptive range of an odorant receptor. Nature Neuroscience.
Buck L, Axel R. A novel multigene family may encode odorant receptors: a molecular basis for odor recognition. Humans can discriminate more than 1 trillion olfactory stimuli. Gilad Y, Lancet D. Population differences in the human functional olfactory repertoire. Molecular Biology and Evolution. McCann Worldgroup. Truth about youth. May The dog and rat olfactory receptor repertoires. Genome Biology. Also In Smell. Smell: An Overview.
Roundup: Scoping Out Smell. Processing Smell. Seeing Your Sense of Smell. Trending Popular articles on BrainFacts. The Neuron.
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