Sad Olfactory Association-seeking advice

[D. Medvedev Fan]

I used to live in dorms where I would pass a duck pond every day to get to class. It smelled a bit-sometimes more than others. The sidewalk was cluttered with duck droppings. I currently associate certain smells and bird droppings together. The smell part makes me want nothing to do with poultry. Sadly, smells that do this are not limited to smelly ponds, so there I was making a turkey sandwich instead of a hotdog and happy that I had found turkey lunchmeat from a deli when I could smell the meat and thought I should have stuck the hotdogs while I recalled why didn’t want poultry last night for dinner because of what was on my dad’s windshield yesterday morning. Help me!

[anthrogirl]

hmmmm....

the olfactory system is the only sensory system that has axons projecting directly to the limbic system. The limbic system (sometimes called the "Reptilian Brain") is situated deep in the brain, and is in charge of memory and emotion. This is why certain smells can give rise to memories and their associated emotions.

As a kid, I spent quite a bit of time in the hospital for a congenital heart defect. Now, everytime I smell rubbing alcohol or certain antisceptics, I am immediately transported to my body as a 3-yr old in the ICU. Wierd experience...

fwiw,
ag