An in-depth review of the methods, findings, and theories associated with odor-evoked autobiographical memory

Hackländer, Ryan P.; Janssen, Steve M. J.; Bermeitinger, Christina

doi:10.3758/s13423-018-1545-3

Cited by 44 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 95 publications

(175 reference statements)

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“…In Phase I, participants were presented with a set of 20 odors and 20 pictures (odors and pictures were interleaved to reduce the likelihood of adaptation and the order of common and uncommon stimuli was counterbalanced) and rated the familiarity of each stimulus, using a Likert scale (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9). Participants opened each jar, one at a time, sniffed the contents, privately wrote a familiarity rating, recapped the jar and handed it to the person to their right.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is Novelty Detection Important in Long-Term Odor Memory?

Cameron

Köster²,

Møller³

2021

Brain Sciences

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Memory for odors is believed to be longer-lasting than memory for visual stimuli, as is evidenced by flat forgetting curves. However, performance on memory tasks is typically weaker in olfaction than vision. Studies of odor memory that use forced-choice methods confound responses that are a result of a trace memory and responses that can be obtained through process of elimination. Moreover, odor memory is typically measured with common stimuli, which are more familiar and responses may be confounded by verbal memory, and measure memory in intentional learning conditions, which are ecologically questionable. Here we demonstrate the value of using tests of memory in which hit rate and correct rejection rate are evaluated separately (i.e., not using forced-choice methods) and uncommon stimuli are used. This study compared memory for common and uncommon odors and pictures that were learned either intentionally (Exp. 1) or incidentally (Exp. 2) and tested with either a forced-choice or a one-stimulus-at-a-time (“monadic”) recognition task after delays of 15 min, 48 h or 1 week. As expected, memory declined with delay in most conditions, but depended upon the particular measure of memory and was better for pictures than odors and for common than uncommon stimuli. For common odors, hit rates decreased with delay but correct rejection rates remained constant with delay. For common pictures, we found the opposite result, constant hit rates and decreased correct rejection rates. Our results support the ‘misfit theory of conscious olfactory perception’, which highlights the importance of the detection of novelty in olfactory memory and suggests that olfactory memory should be studied using more ecologically valid methods.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is Novelty Detection Important in Long-Term Odor Memory?

Cameron

Köster²,

Møller³

2021

Brain Sciences

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“…The ability to sense odours in the environment affects our day to day decisions, enabling us to judge the edibility of particular items of food, avoid environmental hazards and communicate with others [ 1 ]. A smell or odour can induce strong emotional feelings, alter behaviour and can act as a stimulus to the retrieval of autobiographical memory [ 2 – 5 ]. However, in the hierarchy of human senses, smell or olfaction is often underappreciated and inappropriately considered inferior when compared with olfactory performance of other mammals and to the other human sense modalities [ 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Odour enhances the sense of presence in a virtual reality environment

Archer

Bluff

Eddy³

et al. 2022

PLoS ONE

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Virtual reality (VR) headsets provide immersive audio-visual experiences for users, but usually neglect to provide olfactory cues that can provide additional information about our environment in the real world. This paper examines whether the introduction of smells into the VR environment enhances users’ experience, including their sense of presence through collection of both psychological and physiological measures. Using precise odour administration with an olfactometer, study participants were exposed to smells while they were immersed in the popular PlayStation VR game “Resident Evil 7”. A within-subject study design was undertaken where participants (n = 22) walked-through the same VR environment twice, with or without the introduction of associated congruent odour stimuli. Directly after each gameplay, participants completed a questionnaire to determine their sense of presence from the overall gameplay and their sense of immersion in each of the virtual scenes. Additionally, physiological measurements (heart rate, body temperature and skin electrodermal activity) were collected from participants (n = 11) for each gameplay. The results showed the addition of odours significantly increased participants’ sense of spatial presence in the VR environment compared to VR with no odour. Participants also rated the realism of VR experience with odour higher compared to no odour, however odour addition did not result in change in emotional state of participants (arousal, pleasure, dominance). Further, the participants’ physiological responses were impacted by the addition of odour. Odour mediated physiological changes were dependent on whether the VR environment was novel, as the effect of odour on physiological response was lost when participants experienced the aroma on the second gameplay. Overall, the results indicate the addition of odours to a VR environment had a significant effect on both the psychological and physiological experience showing the addition of smell enhanced the VR environment. The incorporation of odours to VR environments presents an opportunity to create a more immersive experience to increase a person’s presence within a VR environment. In addition to gaming, the results have broader applications for virtual training environments and virtual reality exposure therapy.

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“…Among the five senses, the relationship between olfaction and memory has been at the heart of most studies in the field of cognitive neurosciences (for reviews, see Larsson et al, 2014;Saive et al, 2014;Hackländer et al, 2019). Research has suggested that odor-evoked memories have a particular status, which could be summarized under the acronym LOVER: Limbic, Old, Vivid, Emotional, and Rare (Larsson et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Proust Machine: What a Public Science Event Tells Us About Autobiographical Memory and the Five Senses

et al. 2021

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Our senses are constantly stimulated in our daily lives but we have only a limited understanding of how they affect our cognitive processes and, especially, our autobiographical memory. Capitalizing on a public science event, we conducted the first empirical study that aimed to compare the relative influence of the five senses on the access, temporal distribution, and phenomenological characteristics of autobiographical memories in a sample of about 400 participants. We found that the access and the phenomenological features of memories varied as a function of the type of sensory cues, but not their temporal distribution. With regard to their influence on autobiographical memory, an overlap between some senses was found, with on one hand, olfaction and taste and, on the other, vision, audition, and touch. We discuss these findings in the light of theories of perception, memory, and the self, and consider methodological implications of the sensory cuing technique in memory research, as well as clinical implications for research in psychopathological and neuropsychological populations.

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An in-depth review of the methods, findings, and theories associated with odor-evoked autobiographical memory

Cited by 44 publications

References 95 publications

Is Novelty Detection Important in Long-Term Odor Memory?

Is Novelty Detection Important in Long-Term Odor Memory?

Odour enhances the sense of presence in a virtual reality environment

The Proust Machine: What a Public Science Event Tells Us About Autobiographical Memory and the Five Senses

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