Olfactory Memory
Olfactory memory is the recollection of a given smell. Research has found that odor memory is highly persistent and has a high resistance to interference, meaning these memories remain within an individual for long times despite possible interference of other olfactory memories. These memories are mostly explicit, though implicit forms of odor memory do provide some understanding of memory. Mammalian olfactory cues play an important role in the coordination of the mother infant bond, and the following normal development of the offspring. Olfactory memory is especially important for maternal behavior. Studies have shown that the fetus becomes familiar with olfactory cues in the within the uterus. This is demonstrated by research that suggests that newborns respond positively to the smell of their own amniotic fluid, meaning that fetuses learn from these cues in the womb.
Read more about this topic: Sensory Cue, Olfactory Cues
Famous quotes containing the word memory:
“The memory loaded with mere bookwork is not the thing wanted—is, in fact, rather worse than useless—in the teacher of scientific subjects. It is absolutely essential that his mind should be full of knowledge and not of mere learning, and that what he knows should have been learned in the laboratory rather than in the library.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)