Remember That One Scene from Ratatouille?
Why certain smells and tastes trigger specific memories
November is here! I’m keeping this month's newsletter short and sweet; I was in Romania for the past two and a half weeks, so my brain was shut off during that time. I’m not sure it’s back on yet either!
But, some students referred to me as “relentless”, so it might be safe to say I’ve still got it.
November calls for giving thanks, and Thanksgiving is a time to eat food and reflect on what you’re grateful for. Whether you have family time, throw a huge party, keep it small, or hangout with friends, there may be a phenomenon that you may have experienced at some point in your life.
Have you ever watched that one scene in Ratatouille?
When Anton Ego took a bite of ratatouille, he was immediately transported back to specific memories from his childhood. It was a pivotal part of the movie and showed that Ego may have had feelings after all!
Which leads to the question - Why do certain smells (and tastes) trigger memories?
First and foremost, let’s talk about the limbic system.
The limbic system is made up of a few important places where memories and emotions lie.
The hippocampus is used for short and long term memory (among other things).
The amygdala activates your fight or flight response, and can trigger the feeling of fear and other emotional responses like happiness and anxiety.
Most of our senses (taste, touch, hearing, vision) does a ”pitstop” through a part in the brain called the thalamus. The thalamus then imports the input to places like the hippocampus and the amygdala for emotional processing.
The olfactory system (smell) is built slightly differently.
While all other sensory input travels to the opposite sided cortex (think right brain/left brain) for processing, smell does NOT. Smell goes to the same sided olfactory bulb, and skips the thalamus entirely.
This is why you may have smelled a pumpkin spice candle that immediately transported you back to grandma's kitchen, or why using a certain soap makes you think about your middle school crush.
Here is a quick video that dives a bit deeper into it, and adds why flavors can also trigger memories, specifically childhood memories.
Watch Here to Learn More!
Thank you for supporting me and as always, reach out if you have any topics of interest!
Until Next Time -L
Great post, as always! Love your use of the scene Ratatouille as example, and taking us through the scientific explanations of our brains using smells as memory triggers from there! :)
I loved this. Anytime I smell an Easter Lilly plant I recall visiting a great aunt in the hospital when I was about 5. I have very vivid memories of her beautiful voice and white hair.