Good sense of smell makes for more sympathetic individuals
13 Oct 2009, 1107 Hrs

Add comment          Mail          Print          Write to Editor

* Education Directory * Exam Results * Who is Who * Information *Tutorials * Articles * Quote * Classified

Washington, Oct 13 People who have a very sharp sense of smell also have the ability to empathise with others' emotion, a new study has revealed.

Many animals detect subtle chemical changes in a mate or competitor via their scent.

However, among humans scent is more luxurious and has even percolated into literature.

It was the works of authors such as Charles Baudelaire, Marcel Proust, and Albert Camus, who have linked rich scent references to emotions, that inspired Denise Chen, a sociochemist at Rice University in Texas to conduct the study.

"They share close functional and anatomical connections. The olfactory brain overlaps with the emotional brain, and is believed to have contributed to its evolution," National Geographic News quoted her as saying.

Women have a more uniform sense of smell than men, and are also thought to be more sensitive to emotional cues.

Thus, the researchers presented 22 pairs of young women living in university dormitories with identical t-shirts to sleep in.

After being worn for one night, the t-shirts were presented to the same women to smell.

Overall, each woman was given three t-shirts and informed that one of the shirts had been worn by her roommate, and that the other two had been worn by other university students.

Later, the subjects were asked to identify the shirt that had been worn by their roommate.

The women then underwent a series of recognized emotional-sensitivity tests, and it was found that the subjects who correctly selected the t-shirt worn by their roommates tended to score high on the emotional tests.

The researchers concluded that sense of smell and emotion come from the same areas of the brain.

The results were published in an upcoming edition of the journal Psychological Science. (ANI)

Related Latest

An upgrade makes "Jaguar" the world's fastest supercomputer DCP told to probe good Samaritan case Kirsten Dunst says she and ex Jake Gyllenhaal "are not good friends" 'Twilight' sequel 'New Moon' makes 1m pounds in advance ticket sales 'Twilight' sequel 'New Moon' makes £1m in advance ticket sales Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels, says Kate Moss `Australia's ban on uranium sales to India makes no sense' Kapur looking for a good finish at Cambodian Open Women fighter pilots not a good financial option: IAF Good sanitation is key to healthy life style: President

Related Latest

Warnie says 'Pup' Clarke is his new bunny in 20-20 match Assam bomb blast death toll rises to seven (Update Assam blast) Windies won't wilt against Aussies, says coach Williams Central Excise, Customs official protest in Delhi for better pay Teenager charged for mutilation murder of Brit Indian Orissa Govt orders heavy security deployment in Korapat District Ferguson's overhaul plan puts greats under scrutiny Arrest warrant issued against two ministers in Karzai's cabinet Former Australian cricket stars question Clarke's capacity to captain Headley always felt pulled between East and West: Investigators

• Windies won't wilt against Aussies, says coach Williams
• Orissa Govt orders heavy security deployment in Korapat District
• Ferguson's overhaul plan puts greats under scrutiny
• Former Australian cricket stars question Clarke's capacity to captain
• Mariah Carey to croon with Westlife for exclusive single

• भारतीय क्रिकेट की मजबूत दीवार
• कंगारूओं के आगे ढेर, चीतों से कैसे मुकाबला करेंगें शेर
• Reducing greenhouse gases may not be enough to slow global warming
• बीकानेर महापौर चुनावः एक विश्लेषण
• Deepawali: The Festival Of Lights