Smound

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Smound is a perception or sense experience created from the convergence of scents and sounds in the brain. The word is a portmanteau of smell and sound.

Contents

Research by Wesson and Wilson

The smound concept is based on a study done by Daniel Wesson, PhD and Donald Wilson, PhD, researchers at the Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research (NKI) in New York City. [1]

The study, which was published in The Journal of Neuroscience, traced extracellular recordings from the olfactory tubercles of anesthetized mice. They found that 65% of single tubercle units responded to odours and 19% responded to auditory tones. When the tubercles were subjected to both odour and tone, 29% displayed supraadditive or suppressive responses. [2] The authors of the study have suggested that this shows some cross-modulation between the two senses.

Applications

Scientific American has suggested that the results of this study could have a major impact on the study of synesthesia. [3] The researchers plan to patent a device for sniffer dogs that would link inhaled scents with a sound, making the operations of these animals more efficient and effective. [3]

History of the concept

The idea that sounds and scents may be linked in the brain was suggested in 1862 by G. W. Septimus Piesse, who said, "Scents, like sounds, appear to influence the olfactory nerve in certain definite degrees." Piesse also suggested that there may be an octave of odour. [4]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olfactory system</span> Sensory system used for smelling

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olfactory tubercle</span> Area at the bottom of the forebrain

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sense of smell</span> Sense that detects smells

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sniffing (behavior)</span> Nasal inhalation to sample odors

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George William Septimus Piesse, known as Septimus Piesse, was an English chemist and perfumer. Piesse was a leading author and innovator of modern perfume ideas, inventing the concept of notes in perfumery that are still used universally today. He was the co-owner of Piesse and Lubin, a perfume house that created some of the most popular scents of its day.

Olfactory heritage is an aspect of cultural heritage concerning smells that are meaningful to a community due to their connections with significant places, practices, objects or traditions, and can therefore be considered part of the cultural legacy for future generations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olfactory language</span> Language associated with the sense of smell

Olfactory language refers to language associated with the sense of smell. It involves the naming and categorisation of odours by humans according to each odour's perceived source or attributes. The study of olfactory language is part of the field of linguistics and is distinct from the study of semiochemical communication, which involves communication between organisms using chemical substances detected through olfaction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olfactic communication</span> Social interaction through smell

Olfactic communication is a channel of nonverbal communication referring to the various ways people and animals communicate and engage in social interaction through their sense of smell. Our human olfactory sense is one of the most phylogenetically primitive and emotionally intimate of the five senses; the sensation of smell is thought to be the most matured and developed human sense.

References

  1. Nathan S Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Staff List, accessed 25 February 2010
  2. Journal of Neuroscience Smelling Sounds: Olfactory–Auditory Sensory Convergence in the Olfactory Tubercle Daniel W Wesson and Donald A Wilson, 24 February 2010, accessed 25 February 2010
  3. 1 2 Scientific American, Making scents of sounds Lynne Peeples, 23 February 2010, accessed 25 February 2010
  4. The Art of Perfumery G. W. Septimus Piesse, London, 1862, p 25