Lakeland Brain...or...Aroma Memory

[woodsroad]

While driving home from an assignment yesterday, I was suddenly overcome with the aroma of Lakeland. I wasn't smoking, and there wasn't the scent in the air. It was all in my head. Yet, it felt like it was in my sinus. This made me think about aroma memory. Sometimes, an aroma will just manifest itself, out of the blue. like the Lakeland scent yesterday. I've had it happen many times, from the aroma of an ex-girlfriend's favorite perfume, to the smell of fresh-picked apples, or the the memory of great aunt's and uncle's houses that reeked of mothballs and knishes. Some scents I can conjure, like good Virginia leaf, homebrewing, the old mimeograph machine fluid and Linden, NJ.

How about you?

Do scents ever visit you involuntarily? Can you conjure favorite aromas? Am I clinically insane?

Why Smells and Memories Are So Strongly Linked in Our Brains

New research suggests that the human hippocampus and olfactory networks evolved to have especially strong neural connections. This research helps to explain "Proustian" flashbacks.

www.psychologytoday.com

 

[Chasing Embers]

Am I clinically insane?

Not at all. My first wife's 49th birthday would've been yesterday and all day I smelled her peach lotion. It's quite a real thing.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Olfactory hues. I spent my youth with my graddad teaching me how to hunt. He would point out smells to help lead me to deer, and I can still smell the gamey aroma of deer when out hunting. And, sometimes I will be at the beach and smell deer. Weird. I'm pretty sure it is just my brain telling me to kill something.

I'm glad I don't get ghost whiffs of Lakelands. The very notion would turn my stomach of late.

 

[Kobold]

I love the smell of old musty comic books and every time I crack one open I smell it. I also love the smell of Halloween stores, vinyl (reminds me of toys cases and sets I used to have).
I also keep my dads toolboxes. That smell of oil, cigarettes and sweat is still on it after all these years.

 

[Ahi Ka]

​

While driving home from an assignment yesterday, I was suddenly overcome with the aroma of Lakeland.

In my experience that is also the fragrance of the Holy Spirit

 

[sardonicus87]

I have a black mission fig tree in the back yard and it smells amazing, but the scent it gives off, particularly being in an open back yard, is faint and delicate, but it's one of my most favorite aromas. When you can catch a whiff, it's extremely pleasant.

Occasionally when I am out and about, I can smell it even though I'm not at home. However, I have schizophrenia and I have olfactory hallucinations, so it's not uncommon for me to smell things that aren't there. Usually it's unpleasant scents like dog food or putrefaction or burning rubber that I smell.

However, phantosmia is something that is seen in many disorders, and it's something that happens even to healthy people without any kind of disorder. Similar to how people who carry their cell phone in the same pocket and have it on vibrate and get lots of calls or texts can sometimes feel their phone vibrate in that same spot when it isn't vibrating. It's not terribly common with or without some sort of disorder as a root cause, but it can happen.

 

[woodsroad]

I love the smell of old musty comic books and every time I crack one open I smell it. I also love the smell of Halloween stores, vinyl (reminds me of toys cases and sets I used to have).
I also keep my dads toolboxes. That smell of oil, cigarettes and sweat is still on it after all these years.

I also have my dad's old toolboxes. He's been gone for almost ten years now, but every time I think about sorting out the contents, I'll lift the lid and a world of memories come wafting out. Those toolboxes smell just like the garage, and my dad. I can conjure that aroma just sitting here.

 

[B.Lew]

Sounds like Lakeland Brain from all the posting you did regarding G&H last week!

 

[woodsroad]

Sounds like Lakeland Brain from all the posting you did regarding G&H last week!

Thank God I have no idea what that woman smells like!

 

[B.Lew]

Thank God I have no idea what that woman smells like!

Upon a thorough subconscious exploration of both your frontal lobe and sinus cavities you will unlock that secret. There is always a “key” most just don’t look hard enough.

 

[woodsroad]

Upon a thorough subconscious exploration of both your frontal lobe and sinus cavities you will unlock that secret. There is always a “key” most just don’t look hard enough.

I believe the ability to conjure aromas, voluntary or involuntary, is physiological. It's part of the memory process. I just don't know if everyone has this ability or not. My guess is that we all do possess that ability, but some people subconsciously repress it.

 

[PaulRVA]

While driving home from an assignment yesterday, I was suddenly overcome with the aroma of Lakeland. I wasn't smoking, and there wasn't the scent in the air. It was all in my head. Yet, it felt like it was in my sinus. This made me think about aroma memory. Sometimes, an aroma will just manifest itself, out of the blue. like the Lakeland scent yesterday. I've had it happen many times, from the aroma of an ex-girlfriend's favorite perfume, to the smell of fresh-picked apples, or the the memory of great aunt's and uncle's houses that reeked of mothballs and knishes. Some scents I can conjure, like good Virginia leaf, homebrewing, the old mimeograph machine fluid and Linden, NJ.

How about you?

Do scents ever visit you involuntarily? Can you conjure favorite aromas? Am I clinically insane?

Why Smells and Memories Are So Strongly Linked in Our Brains

New research suggests that the human hippocampus and olfactory networks evolved to have especially strong neural connections. This research helps to explain "Proustian" flashbacks.

www.psychologytoday.com

Smell, taste and memory go hand & hand. Ours isn't advanced as a K9’s
As they categorize over 1500 scents to instant memory recognition but
That smell when you walked into a blockbuster video or a new car you’ll pock up blindfolded every time and associate it with a specific memory.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Ours isn't advanced as a K9’s

I smell better than my dog... except for when I am in coming in after working out at the gym.

 

[woodsroad]

Smell, taste and memory go hand & hand. Ours isn't advanced as a K9’s
As they categorize over 1500 scents to instant memory recognition but
That smell when you walked into a blockbuster video or a new car you’ll pock up blindfolded every time and associate it with a specific memory.

Yes, but I am specifically asking about "ghost aromas", or "Phantosmia" and the ability to conjure same.

Just now, I was overcome with the aroma of....

 

[sardonicus87]

I can't willfully call a particular scent. It happens outside my control no matter how much I might try to concentrate and remember a particular scent.

I would imagine it would be easier to do for someone that has higher suggestibility, like someone that's capable of being hypnotized.

 

[PaulRVA]

Yes, but I am specifically asking about "ghost aromas", or "Phantosmia" and the ability to conjure same.

Do scents ever visit you involuntarily? Can you conjure favorite aromas? Am I clinically insane?

A- Your Clinically Insane or
B- You smelled something but didn’t realize you did.
C- If you actually think you didn't smell something but conjured it up
Out of nowhere I’d look for a side gig as a paranormal investigator.

 

[woodsroad]

I can't willfully call a particular scent. It happens outside my control no matter how much I might try to concentrate and remember a particular scent.

I would imagine it would be easier to do for someone that has higher suggestibility, like someone that's capable of being hypnotized.

I'm not susceptible to hypnosis, but I am receptive to suggestion, and she knows it.

 

[PaulRVA]

Yes, but I am specifically asking about "ghost aromas", or "Phantosmia" and the ability to conjure same.

Just now, I was overcome with the aroma of....

View attachment 254351

Not happening here with me but I could use a grill cheese! I think it’s got to be that you picked up on something without realizing it.

 

[woodsroad]

Not happening here with me but I could use a grill cheese! I think it’s got to be that you picked up on something without realizing it.

Possibly. But it happens often enough that it's interesting.
And yes, I just went and made a grilled cheese. Provolone on cinnamon raisin bread.

 

[krizzose]

Olfactory hues. I spent my youth with my graddad teaching me how to hunt. He would point out smells to help lead me to deer, and I can still smell the gamey aroma of deer when out hunting. And, sometimes I will be at the beach and smell deer. Weird. I'm pretty sure it is just my brain telling me to kill something.

I'm glad I don't get ghost whiffs of Lakelands. The very notion would turn my stomach of late.

Just yesterday my brain (when I was in my house in the Detroit ‘burbs) conjured up a visceral memory of the very particular scent of the sandy soil of northern Michigan and White pines on a wet and chilly day, i.e., like I was actually sitting on the ground tucked in under the boughs watching a deer path. I have been getting my gear ready for the opener in about a month, so I’m sure it was a subconscious connection.