The special connection that exists between smells and memories has been the subject of research by neuroscientists in Canada. Scientists have been able to describe the microbiological mechanism that is responsible for vivid memories associated with smells.
The formation of complex memories, as researchers at the University of Toronto found out, is based on a specific interaction that exists between the anterior olfactory nucleus of the forebrain and the hippocampus.
“The hippocampus does something like consolidation of memories, that is, it is responsible for transforming areas of short-term memory into long-term memories. In addition, the hippocampus is important for the mechanism that provides spatial memory, - the researchers write from the pages of Nature Communications.
The connection between the hippocampus and the anterior olfactory nucleus, which underlies the phenomenon of vivid odor-related memories, was investigated using laboratory rodents, on which scientists performed a series of experiments. Experiments have shown that the phenomenon is indeed a consequence of a special neurobiological interaction.
It is known that the loss of smell is one of the early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, so the findings of scientists are of value to physicians studying neurodegenerative diseases.
Kolesnikov Andrey
