Smelling plays a crucial role in everyday life. It influences the functioning of the organism, emotions and social relationships. However, this sense remains little studied and underestimated. The program 36.9 ° takes stock of the latest scientific discoveries and the issues related to the loss of smell.
Long considered the least essential of our senses, human smell is actually extremely efficient. We are able to distinguish more than 10,000 different molecules, which would represent billions of possible nuances by combining them. Our nose contains around 400 types of olfactory receivers, each recognizing specific odors.
There is a very rapid direct link between the nose, the brain and the memory centers
Contrary to popular belief, smell developed very early. “Olfactive neurons are visible from the end of the second trimester of pregnancy,” said Professor Benoist Schaal of the Center for Taste Sciences at CNRS Dijon. A recent study has even shown that the fetus reacts differently according to the food consumed by their mother.
A direct link with the brain
The olfactory system is intimately linked to our brain, especially to the areas responsible for emotions and memories. “There is a very rapid direct link between the nose, the brain and the memory centers,” said Hirac Garden, a neurobiologist at CNRS Paris. This connection explains the evocative power of odors and their ability to rekindle old events.
I locked myself. I no longer participate in anything. I jumped weddings, baptisms, birthdays. I’ve been going to a restaurant for four years.
Loss of smell (anosmia) or its distortion (parosmia) can have significant repercussions on quality of life. Sonia, who has suffered from Parosmia for four years following the COVVI-19, testifies: “Two months later, everything had taken bizarre flavors. The melon, I have the impression of eating a soap. The tangerine is like petrol. And the chicken is as if the meat is moldy.”
These olfactory disorders deeply affect everyday life and social relations. “I locked myself up. I no longer participate in anything. I jumped weddings, baptisms, birthdays. I’ve been going back to a restaurant for four years,” said Sonia.
If we prevent the entry of this olfactory information, this leads to a cerebral fragility which can trigger depression.
The impact on morale can be considerable. “The olfactory meaning is directly linked to the centers that code emotions, pleasure and memories. If we prevent the entry of this olfactory information, this leads to a cerebral fragility which can trigger depression”, specifies Hirac Garden.
Parosmia can also lead to disabled situations on a daily basis, as Sonia points out: “One morning, on the bus, a lady has a cooking smell on her. It was unbearable, it happens to me in the stomach. I have to leave because I really have to vomit.”
A therapeutic potential to explore
Olfaction opens up interesting perspectives in the medical field, especially for people with cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. In some EMS, olfactory workshops are organized to stimulate the brain and memory of residents. “With olfaction, we are trying to have an alarm clock of autobiographical memory,” explains Estelle Rassat, olfactotherapist.
Long neglected, smell is a fascinating meaning with multiple facets. His in -depth study could open the way for new therapeutic approaches, while allowing us to better understand our relationship with the world around us.
Reportage TV: QUENTIN BOHLES IT JOOKER BELLER
Web adaptation: Gaëlle Bisson
