0061915327 (N) by Molly Birnbaum

Author:Molly Birnbaum [Birnbaum, Molly]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Non-Fiction
ISBN: 9780062081506
Google: RwBYRhJRgA8C
Amazon: B004HD62OY
Publisher: Ecco
Published: 2011-06-21T07:00:00+00:00

I FELT SURE that my sense of smell was tied deeply to the state of my emotions. When sad, I noticed my perception of scent dim, like stereo volume on low. When happy, new, intense smells arrived constantly in my nose, making me feel jumpy and quick, the world suddenly coming in exaggerated hues. But why? I had no idea. The smell experts at the lecture with Sacks hadn’t explained it. I wasn’t sure anyone would. All I knew was that my internal landscape fascinated me, moved me, drove me to wonder.

The tie between smell and emotion has long been known, potent since before the days of laureled Greek philosophers. It began, writes Patricia Davis in her book, Aromatherapy: An A–Z, with smoke. “When the twigs of certain bushes or trees were thrown on the fires as fuel, the smoke and aromas they gave off may have made people drowsy, or happy, or excited, or maybe even given rise to ‘mystical’ experiences. . . .” she says. “The ‘smoking’ of patients was one of the earliest forms of medicine, and as religion and medicine were closely bound up with each other, the use of special smokes also formed part of primitive religions.” In ancient Egypt, oils infused with scents like cedarwood were used to embalm the dead and help transport them to the afterlife—smell was equated with spirituality and the gods. The ancient Greeks and Romans used ample perfume; floral scents, specifically, were associated with a state of grace. In Greek mythology, the invention of perfumes was ascribed to the immortals. Today, scent as a mood modulator can be found almost everywhere: from massage parlors to department stores and in the advertised promise of perfume. In 2006, for example, the Westin Hotel chain began pumping the scent of white tea into its lobbies in hopes of inspiring a feeling of calm.

I’ve experienced a feeling of relaxation during a professional massage scented with chamomile and almond. When I was sixteen, I traveled to Nepal and felt an alert but deep calm while sitting in temples where incense burned lazy curls of smoke above my head. I cannot deny that the scent of a cake baking in the oven makes me feel happy no matter where I am, the safe pleasure of home. But could these scents really infiltrate my mind and manhandle my emotions without my conscious knowledge? How did it work? A long chain of scientists and amateurs have wondered just this.

The scientific validity of aromatherapy remains shaky at best. While there have been studies showing that the application of essential oil to the skin can cause a physiological reaction to take place in the body, there is little science to show that inhaling the scent of orange will cause the body to energize or that rose will relieve stress. But that doesn’t mean that smell and emotion aren’t linked.

Like the tie between scent and memory, this tie to emotion is rooted in the structure of the brain. The olfactory

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