Odour training may save memory of older persons brains
LOS ANGELES: Researchers are investigating if they can protect against memory loss by training older people’s brains to remember smells.
While the sense of smell often declines with age, research also shows the loss of smell is an early sign of neurodegenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers are recruiting participants for the “Mind Your Nose” study to see if training memory for smells can boost overall memory and reduce the risk of dementia.
More than 500,000 Australians live with dementia, a figure expected to double by 2050. It is now also the leading cause of death in women in
Australia.
The study, led by Alex Bahar-Fuchs from Deakin University’s School of Psychology, will add to evidence from Sweden that shows training memory for smells can improve the function of the part of the brain where other memories are held.
Dr Bahar-Fuchs, a neuro-psychologist who specialises in ageing and dementia, says it is a novel approach.
“The sense of smell is located adjacent to the parts of the brain that process memory and feelings,” he said. “Smells are also very strong memory cues, making the sense of smell an excellent candidate for memory training.”
Participants in the randomised trial would be asked to do “smell memory training” for 10 to 15 minutes every day for a month.
“We have developed a memory board game with 12 matching pairs of smells,” Dr Bahar-Fuchs said.
“The game prompts participants to open a tin, smell it, and then put it back in its place to see if they can remember the pairs of matching smells.
The quicker they do, the better the memory.”
He said the smells ranged from floral and fruity to earthy vegetable smells and nutty undertones.
Dr Bahar-Fuchs says problems with the sense of smell, known as the olfactory sense, are common in older people.
“In some cases these problems actually reflect a decline in thinking processes, or cognitive abilities, such as attention and memory,” he said.
“We know that the sense of smell is highly trainable and you can train people to improve their sense of smell really well.”
The small trial will compare the smell training with visual memory training.