Riddhika Parmar, Week 16: Memory and the Five Senses
Riddhika Parmar
Week 16
Memory and the Five Senses
Everyone has probably experienced how our five senses can impact memory. For instance, eating a familiar food, hearing a favorite song, or smelling a particular aroma can surface a significant memory. Sometimes the memory can recount a detailed scene, while other times we experience déjà vu, unconsciously recognizing similar stimuli. The hippocampus and sensory centers work together to create these memories.
Sensory memory is divided into subsystems (or sensory registers):
Iconic (seeing) — like seeing an ant walking on a wall
Echoic (hearing) — like hearing a barking dog
Haptic (touching) — like feeling a raindrop on your head
Gustatory (tasting) — like tasting your mom’s food
Olfactory (smelling) — like smelling chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven
Our iconic memory is important, and to take care of it, the 20-20-20 rule (20-second break from your screen every 20 minutes, focusing on an object 20 feet away) has been proven to be helpful. It allows you to relax your eye muscles before returning to the screen. Keeping our vision healthy can promote iconic memory.
Sounds also trigger memories, activating both the left and right hemispheres of our brains and also facilitating the release of the feel good hormone, dopamine. Researchers have found that listening to music, any music (not just classical, although that is what I prefer), can improve memory. When we listen to music and improve our mood, we can solve problems better and even become more creative.
Touch has been studied also as a way to improve concentration. For instance, working with a stress ball, clay, or a gadget you can fiddle with has been useful when studying.
Taste has a surprising impact on memory as well. There is research that supports the positive effects of chewing gum on memory. For example, if you chew an unfamiliar, flavored gum while studying and then chew it during (or just before) the exam, the flavor and texture have the potential to trigger memories from studying, thereby helping you do better on the test.
Scientists have learned that odor memories are the strongest and hardest to forget. They stay with us longer than the other senses. Even patients with a damaged hippocampus and amnesia can still recall childhood aromas. Known as the Proust Effect (named for French author Marcel Proust), certain scents are powerful enough to trigger detailed, vivid memories. Scientists explain that smells are first processed by the olfactory bulb (in the nose) that has a connection to both the amygdala and the hippocampus—impacting both emotion and memory. Other senses like seeing and hearing do not have these same direct connections. Which sensory memory do you find is the strongest for you?
Wow, Riddhika I learned so many new concepts about memory, I hope I can remember it all with my "iconic memory." The 20-20-20 rule you mention makes sense but, in my opinion, seems impractical when completing long stretches of deep work. I feel my eyes have adapted to the screen at this point but whenever they feel strained, I try to drink some water or look outside my window. I also love listening to classical music when working—especially violin music—as I feel it blocks out all the random thoughts that may pop in my head occasionally. I am not sure why Mr. Miller, the sub, keeps bugging students not to listen to music while working even when researchers have proven it is beneficial for one’s memory.
ReplyDeleteIt is so funny how I immediately felt an unexplainable joy while reading your information about olfactory systems and the aroma of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies from the oven. I love that smell so much even though I am not a huge fan of chocolate chip cookies in general, so it is absolutely crazy how I have such a strong and distinct odor memory to that certain ambiance. I guess it has a lot to do with how I have several really good memories revolving around chocolate chip cookies. I also love the picture from Ratatouille you included because that movie is one of my favorites!
ReplyDeleteHi Riddhika! I particularly resonate with my olfactory and gustatory memory. Specific foods and smells are very good triggers for nostalgia, tracing all the way back to my childhood. Perhaps I could implement these memory triggers into my studying as well.
ReplyDeleteHi Riddhika, honestly, the first thing I think about when I think of my childhood is not food, but it certainly plays one of the biggest parts of my life because as I was a child, me and my family used to travel a lot to various places whether it was in India because we had family living all over the place, or in the US. Trying the different types of foods and just the memories that came with it from that particular trip definitely goes down to my childhood. There are some foods that I feel like I love more because of the memories that comes around it rather than the taste which I find very interesting. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Riddhika,
ReplyDeleteThe image you choose is a perfect representation of your blog. To this day, even though Ratatouille is made solely of vegetables, if I see that scene from Ratatouille, I cannot help but feel as though it must taste like heaven. Additionally, I do not think I have ever received so many pieces of useful information in a row. I will certainly try every method of improving my memory and senses before finals. Maybe I can try associating the smell of a certain perfume with all the formulas in Engineering and Pre-Calculus.
Hi Riddhika! I remember learning about this in my psych class. All senses except for smell are relayed to the brain through the thalamus. The way smells are relayed to the brain through the limbic system is quite interesting. This must explain why the smell of one specific brand of soap reminds me of my time at Little Flowers Montessori (super random I know).
ReplyDeleteHi Riddhika, this blog post reminds me of my trip to Hawaii a few years ago. During that trip, I only listened to one playlist—around ten songs. Now, I get strong memories of the Hawaiian coast and ocean whenever I listen to those songs. It seems like my mind has permanently associated certain songs to the experiences I had in the trip.
ReplyDeleteHi Riddhika, I really love how detailed and informational your blog post was. I personally had never heard of the 20-20-20 rule, and I think implementing it in my life would do me good. Additionally, a teacher once told me about rhythmic recall (not sure about the exact name), which is when listening to music when studying and then humming it during the test helps recall information. I realized then that music is a good factor in studying. Lastly, to answer your ending question, I think smell is my strongest memory, like you mentioned. I might not be able to recognize someone after a long time, but the smells of certain foods are things I can remember for much longer periods of time.
ReplyDeleteHey Riddhika, thank you for all the tips on how to improve our memory, I could really use them! I've actually heard of the 20-20-20 rule before, it's one that my mom has told me to try several times, but I can never find the time. I've also heard that classical music is really helpful, except I've heard the reason is that trying to discern the various different components in music subconsciously activates neurons and makes connections in our brain that increases general intelligence and memory. I never knew that stress balls were that helpful but I will definitely try to buy and use one now.
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