Scientists discover how smells can stir memory
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Scientists believe they have discovered how a waft of perfume or the strains of a familiar melody can evoke a vivid memory.
A study has located the precise region of the brain that appears to be responsible for connecting an everyday sensation with something that has happened in the past. The area, the CA3 region of the brain's hippocampus, plays a critical role in the formation of memories that can stay with a person for life.
Researchers led by Dan Johnston, a professor of neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, said the CA3 region was essential for a phenomenon known as "pattern completion". He said: "That is the ability to recall memories from partial representations of the original." The CA3 region may be the part of the brain that initially captures a memory and prepares it for long-term storage. This may explain why people with a damaged hippocampus can remember events that occurred years ago but not what happened yesterday.
The study was based on an experiment in which mice were trained to escape from a maze using a set of visual clues. Genetically engineered mice that lacked a specific protein in the CA3 region could not remember how to get out of the maze when some of the clues had been removed.
Being able to recall the details of a memory from partial clues is thought to explain why humans can become sentimental over a song or a smell.
The study, run with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Hokkaido University in Japan, is published in the journal Science.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments