Remembering Smell (28 page)

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Torrents of words:
In "Madeleines and Neuromodernism," the authors point out that the cookie-and-tea smell's familiarity was remarkable to Proust thanks to the intense euphoria it brought forth. The memory of Combray itself was far more difficult to unlock and came only through determined, conscious effort.

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olfaction's real champions:
Avery Gilbert plays devil's advocate in his book
What the Nose Knows.
Jonah Lehrer disagrees:
Lehrer,
Proust Was a Neuroscientist.
See chapter 4 for a full discussion. Memory breakthroughs are coming fast and furious these days. University of Edinburgh neuroscientist Chris Butler studies people with transient epileptic amnesia (TEA); these unfortunates have seizures that not only cause temporary amnesia but also erase selective memories in a seemingly random way. Butler's work challenges the notion that the hippocampus processes only short-term memories. His find ings fit with a growing consensus that the ancient midbrain triumvirate—feeling, remembering, and smelling—drives human behavior more than thinking does. It also explains why people are able to "relive" past events and imagine the future. Finally, proving the ascendancy of the midbrain would settle the matter of which of the two—intuition or reductive reasoning—is the more reliable tool in decision-making. Lehrer discusses this in
How We Decide.
Noting that people who suffer midbrain neurological damage are often pathologically indecisive, Lehrer recommends following one's gut when long-term experience can be deployed in the decision-making process. As he explains it, dopamine neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex can warn of deviations from accustomed patterns. However, if one is faced with a novel situation, such as a nonpilot having to take the controls from a pilot who's suddenly incapacitated, better to put guesswork on hold and make radio contact with someone on the ground who can help guide the plane to a safe landing.
Spanish scientist:
Lehrer,
Proust Was a Neuroscientist,
chapter 4.

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A BARRIER BREACHED

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years and years:
Igarashi and Mori, "Spatial Representation." The two smell experts explained that a circuit in a perfumer's nose blends odorants to identify a smell mixture, such as banana. When the mixture is paired with a verbal or visual cue, a perfumer or taster can learn to recognize and identify highly complex aromas just by being around them a lot and by smelling them in conjunction with flashcard-like aids.
It used to be:
Elder et al., "Translocation of Inhaled Ultrafine Manganese Oxide Particles."
children in California:
Bakalar, "Childhood: Mold and Pollen." Re
searchers at UC-Berkeley studying some five hundred Hispanic children in California linked an increased risk of asthma for babies born in the winter months to those infants' exposure to mold. A 2008 study found that polluted air not only caused Alzheimer's lesions in dogs but also damaged children's brains. The first study to focus on nano particles was conducted in the Netherlands. Researchers found that even brief exposure (several hours) to the outdoor air pollutants altered brain function. A study of humans exposed to diesel fumes was published by Borm et al. in
Particle and Fibre Toxicology.
The EEG findings indicated a "significant" cortical stress response to the fumes.

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Michigan State University:
Harkema, Islam, and Pestka, "Satra-toxin G."

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Patients with Korsakoff's:
Wilson and Stevenson,
Learning to Smell,
168–70; also see Oliver Sacks's "The Lost Mariner," one of the case studies in
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.
Huntington's patients:
Wilson and Stevenson,
Learning to Smell,
170–71.

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Yale researchers:
Recent work is described in Carlson et al., "Odor Coding."

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odor perception in frogs:
University of South Carolina biologist Richard G. Vogt discusses such trends in "How Sensitive Is a Nose?"
Not all are thrilled:
David J. Anderson was profiled in "Drosophila Envy," by Jeff Miller, published in the November 2006
HHMI Bulletin.

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William Frey:
See Talan, "Intranasal Delivery."

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Northwestern's Jay Gottfried:
Hummel and Welge-Lüssen, eds.,
Taste and Smell.

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NO QUICK FIX

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smell actually
outlasts: Johnston et al., "Olfactory Ability." Griffith University scientists studied almost a thousand Australian males and females of all ages.
some hearing loss:
Nagourney, "Screening." While the study, conducted at Johns Hopkins University, reconfirmed that hearing loss is prevalent in older people, researchers were surprised to find that hearing loss is more common in younger people than previously believed.

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A ninety-five-year-old:
This story was reported by National Public Radio in January 2009.

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The same is true:
The announcement of the world's first bionic eye (including the statement by the inventors that it would not lead to an implantable eye for humans) was reported on National Public Radio's
All Things Considered
in 2008.
A man named Mike May:
Kurson,
Crashing Through. LeDoux explained that:
LeDoux,
Synaptic Self.
LeDoux went on to write that "the problem of understanding this is called the binding problem" (page 193). One popular solution involves the notion of neuronal synchrony. This "simultaneous firing" is the basis for one explanation of consciousness.

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chemotherapy was destroying:
Burstein, "Olfactory Hallucinations."

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At the same time:
These issues are discussed by Matt Ridley in his book
Nature via Nurture.
Richard Doty offered some insight on shifting priorities in funding for science and treatment in olfactory medicine.

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the man who invented:
Svoboda, "Sniff Test."

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four out of ten chefs:
Hirsch discussed his informal experiment with me in an interview in 2006.
The last time:
ABC's August 1, 2008,
20/20
segment entitled "Eat Ice Cream, Burgers and Pizza and Still Lose Weight?" discussed how Sprinkle Thin became Sensa and why neither product kept weight off.

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GOING AFTER ZICAM

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rubbed Vicks:
Detailed information on Vicks VapoRub can be found in the papers of Henry Smith Richardson, located in the manuscripts department of the Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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plaintiffs in the Zicam:
References to the class-action lawsuit are from various sources, including the
Washington Post.
See Boodman's "Paying Through the Nose."

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An Australian study:
Johnston et al., "Olfactory Ability."

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website called nosmell.com:
The site apparently shut down in 2007.
An online blogger:
The victim told his story on the blog tvjunkie.typepad.com on December 23, 2007. The piece begins, "I thought I'd
tell you a little story to help keep you from making the same mistake I did last year. That mistake ... was Zicam."

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sales of Zicam products:
Matrixx Initiatives posts its balance sheet on-line.

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a massive dose:
Sanders, "Fear of Falling."

EPILOGUE

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fallen on deaf ears:
Morgenson, "Eyeshade Smelled Trouble." The
Times
business writer also reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission had begun an inquiry into the company. She related this turn of events to an incident beginning in 2002 when Matrixx filed a defamation suit against Internet posters who spoke out against Zicam products. Around the same time, an independent stock analyst and CPA had repeatedly warned investors that the company's stock value was inflated and the company itself was in jeopardy because of potential litigation from aggrieved customers. As part of the defamation suit, Matrixx barraged him with expensive subpoena requests, which caused him to have to shut down his website.