Hello there my fellow writers. So, in my Science course a few months ago, I learned that the brain can attach things to other things subconsciously. What may I mean well.... (Prof. Noam Sobel and research student Anat Arzi, together with Sobel`s group in the Institute`s Neurobiology Department in collaboration with researchers from Loewenstein Hospital and the Academic College of Tel Aviv – Jaffa, chose to experiment with a type of conditioning that involves exposing subjects to a tone followed by an odor, so that they soon exhibit a similar response to the tone as they would to the odor. The pairing of tones and odors presented several advantages. Neither wakes the sleeper (in fact, certain odors can promote sound sleep), yet the brain processes them and even reacts during slumber. Moreover, the sense of smell holds a unique non-verbal measure that can be observed – namely sniffing. The researchers found that, in the case of smelling, the sleeping brain acts much as it does when awake: We inhale deeply when we smell a pleasant aroma but stop our inhalation short when assaulted by a bad smell. This variation in sniffing could be recorded whether the subjects were asleep or awake. Finally, this type of conditioning, while it may appear to be quite simple, is associated with some higher brain areas – including the hippocampus, which is involved in memory formation. In the experiments, the subjects slept in a special lab while their sleep state was continuously monitored. As they slept, a tone was played, followed by an odor – either pleasant or unpleasant. Then another tone was played, followed by an odor at the opposite end of the pleasantness scale. Over the course of the night, the associations were partially reinforced, so that the subject was exposed to just the tones as well. The sleeping volunteers reacted to the tones alone as if the associated odor were still present – by either sniffing deeply or taking shallow breaths. The next day, the now awake subjects again heard the tones alone – with no accompanying odor. Although they had no conscious recollection of listening to them during the night, their breathing patterns told a different story. When exposed to tones that had been paired with pleasant odors, they sniffed deeply, while the second tones – those associated with bad smells – provoked short, shallow sniffs.) These are very common and nothing astonishing. So anyway, are there anythings that your brain has paired together like when you hear or see one you automatically without even trying think of the other? When I was younger, I used to be able to smell events, such as a video game. I knew the smell of different video games when I played. Or other things like if I listened to a certain song while reading a certain manga. When I listened to the song again, I would think of that manga. Tell me your brain attachments.
Video games having smells sounds like synesthesia. I have a lot of smells and sounds I associate with different things. For me smells cause stronger associations than sounds. It's taken me almost six years to get where I don't get nauseated when I smell doctor's offices or lotion I used when I was in the hospital. If I had to rank my senses in order of how strongly they triggered memories (good and bad) smell would be the highest on that list followed by sight then sounds. Some smells, sights, and sounds that I associate with very specific things are antique roses, seagulls, disinfectant, gold bond lotion, rain, my favorite perfume, candles right after they're blown out, old books, and classic rock.
Is synesthesia deadly? I don't have that ability any more, but trust me I did. I got into a car crash once and could smell the burned tires, broken glass, and oil for weeks. But that video game that had the smell was my first real gaming experience. So, maybe it takes a big event, I don't know. Maybe I am just crazy.
Haha no it's not deadly or even harmful. It's just wires getting crossed in the brain (from my understanding of it). It's when your brain mixes up the senses like hearing colors for example.
