Abstract
Even though rarely thought of, all environmental spaces contain odor information. It has been proposed that the preconditions for episodic olfactory memory may not be optimal. For example, environmental olfactory information often goes unnoticed and barely evokes attention in humans and semantic activations that are a prerequisite for optimal episodic memory functioning are typically restricted. Still, it is highly likely that olfactory information will become part of a memory representation that is linked to a specific event. This implies that an event-congruent exposure of an odor carries the potential to trigger all, or parts of, a previous episode. Indeed, available evidence shows that odors may serve as powerful reminders of past experiences. This is demonstrated by studies exploring the nature of odor-evoked autobiographical memories and by controlled experimental paradigms where odors have been embedded in a learning context and later reinstated at retrieval where an increased memory recollection for the target information is often observed. These observations converge on the notion that odor memories are retained over long periods oftime.
In this chapter, we will highlight olfactory cueing of memory and how odors may act as reminders of the recent and distant past.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- AM:
-
autobiographical memory
References
S.M. Smith, E. Vela: Environmental context-dependent memory: A review and meta-analysis, Psychon. Bull. Rev. 8, 203–220 (2001)
E. Tulving, D.M. Thompson: Encoding specificity and retrieval processes in episodic memory, Psychol. Rev. 80, 352–373 (1973)
H.L.I.I.I. Roediger, D.A. Gallo, L. Geraci: Processing approaches to cognition: The impetus from the levels-of-processing framework, Memory 10, 319–332 (2002)
W.R. Balch, K. Bowman, L.A. Mohler: Music-dependent memory in immediate and delayed word recall, Memory Cogn. 20, 21–28 (1992)
K.M. Mead, L.J. Ball: Music tonality and context-dependent recall: The influence of key change and mood mediation, Eur. J. Cogn. Psychol. 19, 59–79 (2007)
S.M. Smith: Background music and context-dependent memory, The Am. J. Psychol. 98, 591–603 (1985)
P.A. Bell, S. Hess, E. Hill, S.L. Kukas, R.W. Richards, D. Sargent: Noise and context-dependent memory, Bull. Psychon. Soc. 22, 99–100 (1984)
P. Dalton: The role of stimulus familiarity in context-dependent recognition, Memory Cogn. 21, 223–234 (1993)
T. Isarida, T.K. Isarida: Effects of environmental context manipulated by the combination of place and task on free recall, Memory 12, 376–384 (2004)
A. Fernandez, A.M. Glenberg: Changing environmental context does not reliably affect memory, Memory Cogn. 7, 95–112 (1985)
F.R. Schab: Odors and the remembrance of things past, J. Exp. Psychol.: Learn. Memory Cogn. 16, 648–655 (1990)
S.C. Pointer, N.W. Bond: Context dependent memory: Colour versus odour, Chem. Senses 23, 359–362 (1998)
D.G. Smith, L. Standing, A. de Man: Verbal memory elicited by an ambient odor, Percept. Motor Skills 74, 339–343 (1992)
A. Cann, D.A. Ross: Olfactory stimuli as context cues in human memory, Am. J. Psychol. 102, 91–102 (1989)
L.B. Buck: Smell and taste: The chemical senses, Princ. Neural Sci. 4, 625–647 (2000)
M. Moscovitch, L. Nadel, G. Winocur, A. Gilboa, R.S. Rosenbaum: The cognitive neuroscience of remote episodic, semantic and spatial memory, Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 16, 179–190 (2006)
R.S. Herz: The effects of cue distinctiveness on odor-based context dependent memory, Memory Cogn. 25, 375–380 (1997)
Y.M. Ulrich-Lai, J.P. Herman: Neural regulation of endocrine and autonomic responses, Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 10, 397–409 (2009)
M.B.J. Toffolo, M.A.M. Smeets, M.A. van den Hout: Proust revisited: Odours as triggers of aversive memories, Cogn. Emot. 26, 83–92 (2012)
U.S. Wiemers, M.M. Sauvage, O.T. Wolf: Odors as effective retrieval cues for stressful episodes, Neurobiol. Learn. Memory 112, 230–236 (2014)
S. Cornell Kärnekull, U. Jönsson, J. Willander, M. Larsson: Context independent memory for odors and words, XXIVth Int. Conf. Eur. Chemorecept. Res. Organ. (Dijon, France 2014)
J.E. Eich: Context, memory, and integrated item/context imagery, J. Exp. Psychol.: Learn. Memory Cogn. 11, 764–770 (1985)
W.H. Saufley, S.R. Otaka, J.L. Bavaresco: Context effects: Classroom tests and contextual independence, Memory Cogn. 13, 522–528 (1985)
J.P. Aggleton, L. Waskett: The ability of odours to serve as state-dependent cues for real-world memories: Can Viking smells aid the recall of Viking experiences?, Br. J. Psychol. 90, 1–7 (1999)
E. Roos af Hjelmsäter, S. Landström, M. Larsson, P.-A. Granhag: The ability of odours to serve as state-dependent cues for real-world memories: Can Viking smells aid the recall of Viking experiences?, Psychol. Crime Law 21(5), 471–481 (1999)
S.M. Smith: Environmental context-dependent memory. In: Memory in Context: Context in Memory, ed. by G. Davies, D. Thomson (Wiley, Oxford 1988) pp. 13–34
M.A. Conway, C.W. Pleydell-Pearce: The construction of autobiographical memories in the self-memory system, Psychol. Rev. 107, 261–288 (2000)
H.F. Crovitz, H. Schiffman: Frequency of episodic memories as a function of their age, Bull. Psychon. Soc. 4, 517–518 (1974)
D.C. Rubin: Autobiographical memory tasks in cognitive research. In: Cognitive Methods and Their Application in Clinical Research, ed. by A. Wenzel, D.C. Rubin (American Psychological Association, Washington DC 2005) pp. 219–241
D.C. Rubin, M.D. Schulkind: Distribution of important and word-cued autobiographical memories in 20-, 35-, and 70-year-old adults, Psychol. Aging 12, 524–535 (1997)
D.C. Rubin: On the retention function for autobiographical memory, J. Verbal Learn. Verbal Behav. 21, 21–38 (1982)
D. Berntsen, D.C. Rubin: Cultural life scripts structure recall from autobiographical memory, Memory. Cogn. 32, 427–442 (2004)
D.C. Rubin, T.A. Rahhal, L.W. Poon: Things learned in early adulthood are remembered best, Memory Cogn. 26, 3–19 (1998)
S. Chu, J.J. Downes: Odour-evoked autobiographical memories: Psychological investigations of proustian phenomena, Chem. Senses 25, 111–116 (2000)
S. Chu, J.J. Downes: Proust nose best: Odors are better cues of autobiographical memory, Memory Cogn. 30, 511–518 (2002)
J. Willander, M. Larsson: Smell your way back to childhood: Autobiographical odor memory, Psychon. Bull. Rev. 13, 240–244 (2006)
A. Arshamian, E. Iannilli, J.C. Gerber, J. Willander, J. Persson, H.S. Seo, T. Hummel, M. Larsson: The functional neuroanatomy of odor evoked autobiographical memories cued by odors and words, Neuropsychologia 51, 123–131 (2013)
R.S. Herz, G.C. Cupchik: An experimental characterization of odor-evoked memories in humans, Chem. Senses 17, 519–528 (1992)
J. Willander, M. Larsson: Olfaction and emotion: The case of autobiographical memory, Memory Cogn. 35, 1659–1663 (2007)
R.S. Herz, J. Eliassen, S. Beland, T. Souza: Neuroimaging evidence for the emotional potency of odor-evoked memory, Neuropsychologia 42, 371–378 (2004)
A. Arshamian, M. Larsson: Same same but different: The case of olfactory imagery, Front. Psychol. 5, 34 (2014)
D.C. Rubin, E. Groth, D.J. Goldsmith: Olfactory cuing of autobiographical memory, Am. J. Psychol. 97(4), 493–507 (1984)
M. Larsson, J. Willander, K. Karlsson, A. Arshamian: Olfactory LOVER: Behavioral and neural correlates of autobiographical memory, Front. Psychol. 5, 312 (2014)
B.J. Underwood: Interference and forgetting, Psychol. Rev. 64, 49–60 (1957)
H.T. Lawless, W.S. Cain: Recognition memory of odors, Chem. Senses Flavour 1, 331–337 (1975)
R.A. Dempsey, R.J. Stevenson: Gender differences in the retention of Swahili names for unfamiliar odors, Chem. Senses 27, 681–689 (2002)
E.P. Köster, J. Degel, D. Piper: Proactive and retroactive interference in implicit odor memory, Chem. Senses 27, 191–206 (2002)
Y. Yeshurun, H. Lapid, Y. Dudai, N. Sobel: The privileged brain representation of first olfactory associations, Curr. Biol. 19, 1869–1874 (2009)
K. Karlsson, S. Sikström, J. Willander: The semantic representation of event information depends on the cue modality: An instance of meaning-based retrieval, PloS ONE 8(10), e73378 (2013)
J. Willander, S. Sikström, K. Karlsson: Multimodal retrieval of autobiographical memories: Sensory information contributes differently to the recollection of events, Front. Psychol. 6, 1681 (2015)
M. Larsson, J. Willander: Autobiographical odor memory, Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 1170, 318–323 (2009)
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by a grant from the Swedish Research Council (421-2011-1792) and The Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences (M14-0375:1) to Maria Larsson. Correspondence concerning this chapter should be addressed to Dr Maria Larsson, Gösta Ekman Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Frescati Hagväg 9A, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden. E-mail: marlar@psychology.su.se
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Larsson, M., Arshamian, A., Kärnekull, C. (2017). Odor-Based Context Dependent Memory. In: Buettner, A. (eds) Springer Handbook of Odor. Springer Handbooks. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26932-0_42
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26932-0_42
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-26930-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-26932-0
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)