How Scent Can Trigger Memories

Most people can recognize the times when you are cleaning out your childhood bedroom and you find loads of lost treasures. You happen upon your signature perfume from middle school and the scent of it immediately brings back the memories of your childhood years (whether good or good). The part of your brain that registers smell is called the olfactory bulb. The olfactory bulb is directly connected to the parts of your brain where memories are kept, also known as the hippocampus and amygdala. To summarize what all of this means is that the smell and memory parts of your brain are intertwined so certain smells can trigger certain emotions and feelings.