Who would have thought that certain scents could improve the condition of depressed individuals and potentially reduce the need for numerous medications? In recent research findings, scientists from the University of Pittsburgh discovered that scents are more effective than words at evoking positive memories, which may assist those suffering from depression in breaking negative thought patterns. The New York Post reported that researchers exposed 32 individuals aged between 18 and 55, who suffer from major depressive disorder, to 12 scents in opaque vials.
The scents included ground coffee, coconut oil, cumin powder, red wine, vanilla extract, cloves, shoe polish, essential orange oil, ketchup, and even the scent of "Vicks VapoRub." After smelling the vials, the neuroscientists asked participants to recall a specific memory and whether it was good or bad. Kimberly Young, the lead author of the study published in JAMA Network Open, a neuroscientist and assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, stated that depressed individuals who smelled familiar scents were more likely to remember a specific experience or event, such as being in a café a week ago, compared to the more general memory of going to a café at some point in their life. When compared to word cues, scents evoke memories that seem more "vivid and real."
Young added, "I was surprised that no one had ever thought of looking at memory retrieval in depressed patients using scent cues before." She explained that activating a part of the brain called the amygdala, which controls the "fight or flight" response, aids in recollection since the amygdala directs attention to specific events. Scents may stimulate the amygdala through neural connections in the olfactory bulb, a cluster of nervous tissue associated with the sense of smell.
Furthermore, she noted that those suffering from depression often report difficulty recalling specific memories from their lives. Since Young learned that scents could evoke happy memories in non-depressed individuals, she decided to study odor and memory retrieval in depressed patients. She confirmed that enhancing memory in depressed individuals could help them recover more quickly. She revealed, "If we improve memory, we can enhance problem-solving, emotional regulation, and other functional issues that those suffering from depression often face."
Young plans to use a brain scanner in the future to prove her theory that scents interact with the amygdala in depressed individuals.
