This article is about the connection between odors and
emotions. Certain odors provoke different feelings and reactions in one’s mind,
such as a sense of happiness when smelling the baking of bread, or the sense of
disgust and mild anger when smelling rotten eggs. Previously, the scientific
community has been unaware of the biological reasoning for this connection. But
now, however, researchers have begun to use advanced brain scanning technology
to study how anxiety and stress can rewire the brain, linking the centers that
deal with emotion and odors, causing typically benign smells to become
malodorous. They have discovered that experiencing stress or sadness can cause
a relatively neutral smell to transform into an awful smell. Teams of
scientists have set up an experiment using an MRI, where they allow a subject
to smell a neutral odor, then scan their brain while a screen shows them
stressful and sad images. As they observe the brain, they notice that the two
distinct and initially independent circuits of the brain, one concerned with
odor processing and one concerned with emotion, become intertwined as the
subject becomes stressed and anxious. After the scan, the subjects are asked to
smell the neutral substances again, and after becoming stressed and anxious
they claim that the substances smell a lot worse than they did before.
This discovery is so important to
science because it could change the way that anxiety is viewed and treated.
This connection may help scientists to better understand the rewiring of the
brain under stressful conditions and the reinforcement of negative thoughts,
which could eventually lead to better prevention methods for depression and
sadness. At this point in time, there is no foolproof way to treat depression
or anxiety, even though there are many working medications on the market. The
relationship between the two circuits of emotion and odor in the brain might be
very telling of the way the brain functions in relation to stress and sadness.
When the brain sees something sad or stressful, it rewires itself to have sad
thoughts, and because scientists now understand the way in which the brain
rewires itself, they might be able to do something to prevent it for patients
of depression and anxiety.
I think that this article was very
interesting and it was written very well. I especially liked the analysis of
the experiment done with the MRI because I thought it was very telling to the
future of the results of this experiment. If I could change something about
this article I would add an element of the future into it. I would have liked
to have read a little bit more about how this discovery would impact science
and medicine in the future. Even though through the experimental results we can
infer the purpose of this test, I would like to have heard some concrete
discussion of how these results will be used in the future. Overall, I enjoyed
reading the article and I look forward to hearing of medical innovations
surrounding this topic.
SOURCES:
University of
Wisconsin-Madison. "A shot of anxiety and the world stinks: How stress can
rewire brain, making benign smells malodorous." ScienceDaily, 24
Sep. 2013. Web. 25 Sep. 2013.
Sabine summarized the article, “A Shot of Anxiety and the World Stinks: How Stress Can Rewire Brain, Making Benign Smells Malodorous” well. Sabine clearly stated the overall argument of the article, by writing, “…anxiety and stress can rewire the brain, linking the centers that deal with emotion and odors, causing typically benign smells to become malodorous.” In addition, she wrote about the MRI experiment mentioned in the article in order to help prove the argument that anxiety causes pleasant smells to become foul-smelling. Specifically, Sabine noted, “they allow a subject to smell a neutral odor, then scan their brain while a screen shows them stressful and sad images…and after becoming stressed and anxious they claim that the substances smell a lot worse than they did before.” Furthermore, Sabine did a great job explaining how the article’s information affects humanity in general. She brought up the point that since during the experiment, the scientists observed that the brain circuit concerned with odor processing and the brain circuit concerned with emotion become intertwined as the subject becomes anxious, then anxiety can be viewed differently, eventually resulting in productive approaches to prevent it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Sabine did a good job reviewing this article, there are many ways to improve it. First of all, Sabine could have introduced Wen Li, a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Waisman Center, because she led the scientific team who performed the experiment. Next, Sabine could have defined the biological term “olfactory system” for readers who may not be familiar with the system.
Overall, Sabine chose an interesting and educational article. I learned that anxiety makes the brain circuit concerned with odor processing and the brain circuit concerned with emotion intertwine, causing pleasant smells to become malodorous.
Sabine’s article, “A Shot of Anxiety and the World Stinks: How stress can Rewire Brain” was a very good article in the sense that it was very informative but it was still relatable. She summed up the article very well by stating the main assertion right in the first couple of sentences, “anxiety and stress can rewire the brain, linking the centers that deal with emotion and odors, causing typically benign smells to become malodorous”. She also goes along to talk about the crucial data that researchers found, “the two distinct and initially independent circuits of the brain, one concerned with odor processing and one concerned with emotion, become intertwined as the subject becomes stressed and anxious”. She also gives credit to the article for using their MRI technology to constantly monitor the subjects when they, “ allow a subject to smell a neutral odor, then scan their brain while a screen shows them stressful and sad images”. By Sabine stating this we can now presume this data to be more accurate as they based their conclusions of real data not just a theory.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Sabine summarizes most of the article however I feel as if she should have discussed the fact that not only does an odor smell worse after linking it with traumatic events but that smelling that particular odor can induce a feeling of anxiety or depression. Another drawback of her review is that fact that she failed to introduce Wen Li who conducted the whole experiment, by not introducing her we cannot truly tell whether it is a reliable article or not.
I found this article to be very fascinating, as it showed the intertwining of the brain circuit that deals with anxiety and the brain circuit that deals with odor. It just shows us that there are many more connections to be made throughout our body that are undiscovered.
After reading "A shot of anxiety and the world stinks: How stress can rewire brain, making benign smells malodorous,” I’ve learned much more about the connection between stress and smell in the brain. The author of this summary summarizes the experiment and the purpose of these tests in a very clear way that is easy for the reader to understand for himself or herself. I now know that in the MRI experiment a subject had to smell a neutral odor, and then was shown negative or stressful images. When smelling the same odor again, the subject thought the odor smelled worse because of the stress or pain experienced the last time they smelt the odor. The writer organized the review well with three succinct, information-packed paragraphs. I especially liked the connection she made to the bread and eggs because I was personally able to connect to this part with my own experiences of smelling these things.
ReplyDeleteOne change that would make this review even better is if the writer compacted the second paragraph to make it more concise. It was a little redundant, in my opinion, when speaking of the effects of this discovery on the treatment of depression and anxiety. Also, I would have loved to hear more about the writer’s personal opinion of the article and feedback on the information. She started to talk about how she would have liked to hear more information on how the results could be used in the future, but I would have liked to hear more critique about what was in the article itself. However, in general, the writing and formatting of this review was very clear and easy to understand.
The one fact I found especially interesting in this article was the idea that experiencing stressful or sad things while smelling an odor can make your brain change the way you react to that smell. When looking back at my own experiences with odors, I can definitely remember certain smells, such as perfumes, that make me feel happy because I wore them during fun times in my life with my friends or family. The idea of rewiring the brain is intriguing and it would be interesting to further research this topic. In conclusion, I really enjoyed reading about the content of this article and I also think the writer did a really nice job presenting the information given.
Not only was this review interesting to learn about, but it was formatted in such a way that made it easy to understand and follow. The first aspect of this review that was well presented was the fact that Sabine gave examples of what exact emotions are provoked when one smells a certain odor. For instance, she said that people become disgusted or mildly angry when they smell rotten eggs. Next, Sabine successfully described to the reader what happens to the brain when one smells a certain odor. She claims that the two distinct and initially independent circuits of the brain, one concerned with odor and one concerned with emotion, become intertwined as the subject becomes stressed and anxious. Lastly, Sabine presents an intriguing point that this discovery could change the way anxiety is viewed and treated. Although this review was impressive, it could have been made even better in two different areas. First, I wish that the outcome of the experiment pertaining to the MRI scan was more elaborate and explained more of what exactly this discovery proved. Also, I felt that the second paragraph was too focused on what this experiment could possibly lead to in the future, rather than what it is really showing us now. I found this article to be very interesting, along with the review that was describing this new discovery. I would have never thought that a certain scent could ultimately connect to one’s overall emotion. This article really opened up my eyes and made me realize how the brain can work in many mysterious ways.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Sabine's article, "How Stress Can Rewire Brain, Making Benign Smells Malodorous." I found this very interesting because I never put the thought together that the way a person's brain reacts to something and/or how they channel their emotions could do with odors of certain types. I think she did a great job on reciting the article very well. I understood what the article was talking about very easily and almost immediately. I thought the way Sabine wrote the article was exceptional. She said it out very nicely and it caught my attention right away. I enjoyed how Sabine talked about the certain smells that caused certain emotions right away. This provided insight that some emotions experienced by people, such as depression and anxiety could actually be caused by certain odors. This was very interesting. However, I did think that the article had some little room for improvement. For example, I thought that Sabine could have elaborated more on the results of the MRI and how that would affect people today. Otherwise I thought her choice of an article was very good and I enjoyed reading it a lot.
ReplyDeleteI read Sabine’s review of the articled titled, “"A shot of anxiety and the world stinks: How stress can rewire brain, making benign smells malodorous." I think that this review was very interesting because it discusses the idea that certain odors can evoke certain emotions. I think that the article did a good job of giving background information. I also thought that it enhanced the review by including example such as “a sense of happiness when smelling the baking of bread, or the sense of disgust and mild anger when smelling rotten eggs”. I also found it interesting that when you are stressed or have anxiety it can cause a neutral smell to sound bad. I think the importance of this research and discovery is very interesting because it can help prevent depression. I also found it interesting that showing pictures of specific emotions can cause these different smells because I have never noticed this in myself before. One thing that I thought you could add to the review is a little more information about the research that scientists are doing and how the scientists perform this experiment. You mention in the end of an article that there was an experiment involving and MRI, but it would be helpful to the reader if you could explain that experiment in your review. I also agree that there could have been more information about the impact of this research on the future of science. I did think that the way you formatted the review was very helpful by giving the background first and then giving your opinions and the impact on the future because it made it easier for the reader to understand. Overall, I thought that this article was very thought provoking because I had never heard of odors evoking specific moods and vice-versa.
ReplyDelete