The Science of Scent
10 years ago
It occurs to me that while we all obviously enjoy perfumes, so much of how we smell remains obscure. Vibrating molecules, yes... but once you get beyond the basics it gets rather tricky, especially once we get past initial sensory mechanics into how the brain actually absorbs and accesses this olfactory info.
I wanted to start a thread for posting information and articles not only about scientific discoveries regarding smell but the social and personal implications of them. Here's one I was reading earlier today after an article popped up about scent sensitivity being an early symptom of Alzheimer's... while the peanut butter test is fascinating, this article is broader, well sourced and though it does become a little dry, it's well worth the read.
www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo /37603/title/Smell-and-the-Degenerating-Brain
TL;DR version: olfactory dysfunction is an early sign of many neurological disorders.
The one request I make to those replying with links to share is to please make sure any articles you link have reasonable sources. Casual speculation is well and good but documentation and peer review separates a study from tin foil hat hypotheses.
I wanted to start a thread for posting information and articles not only about scientific discoveries regarding smell but the social and personal implications of them. Here's one I was reading earlier today after an article popped up about scent sensitivity being an early symptom of Alzheimer's... while the peanut butter test is fascinating, this article is broader, well sourced and though it does become a little dry, it's well worth the read.
www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo /37603/title/Smell-and-the-Degenerating-Brain
TL;DR version: olfactory dysfunction is an early sign of many neurological disorders.
The one request I make to those replying with links to share is to please make sure any articles you link have reasonable sources. Casual speculation is well and good but documentation and peer review separates a study from tin foil hat hypotheses.