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The Mind’s Nose and Autobiographical Odor Memory

  • Published:
Chemosensory Perception

Abstract

This study investigated the potential impact of odor imagery on the retrieval of autobiographical events. Specifically, the main aims were to examine the influence of imagined odor cues on (a) the age distribution of autobiographical memories and (b) the experiential qualities of the retrieved events. Sixty-four older adults were randomized into one of two cue conditions (word or odor imagery) and were asked to relate any autobiographical event for the given cue. The results indicated that events evoked by odor imagery were older than memories associated with words. Specifically, most memories evoked by olfactory imagery originated from the first decade of life (<10 years), whereas word-evoked memories peaked in young adulthood (11–20 years). Also, memories evoked by odor imagery entailed higher proportions of sensory experiences as compared to the word-cue condition. However, other phenomenological qualities of the retrieved events did not differ between the two conditions. Overall, this pattern of findings suggests that olfactory imagery influences temporal but not experiential qualities of retrieved autobiographical memory information.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by a grant from The Swedish Research Council (No. F0647/2001). The authors would like to thank Simon Andersson, Tomas Marklund, and Jerry Malmin for providing lab space in Skellefteå. Finally, we would like to thank all the participants in the “Autobiographical Memory Project III.”

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  1. Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Frescati Hagväg 14, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden

    Johan Willander & Maria Larsson

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  1. Johan Willander
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  2. Maria Larsson
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Correspondence to Johan Willander.

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Willander, J., Larsson, M. The Mind’s Nose and Autobiographical Odor Memory. Chem. Percept. 1, 210–215 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-008-9026-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-008-9026-0

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