The Senseof Smell -
the Olfactory Sense
Thisis the third in the verysuccessful seriesof articlesthat DavidBrown,from
CaliforniaDeafblind is writingon the senses
Services,
he senseof smellis merelycollectsthe relevant
cruciallyimportant information, so that every
for the existence
of time we inhale,air swirlsup
almostall creatures,for through the nostrilsto the
finding the next meal,for millionsof smellreceptor
avoidingmany dangers,or cellsthat are all contained
for choosinga partner.We deepwithin the nasal
humans,ableto distinguish cavityin an areaknown as
thousandsof differentodour the olfactoryepithelium,
molecules,utilizeour sense which is about the sizeof a
of smellfor a multitudeof postagestamp.Thesecells
activitiesfrom maintaining are sensitiveto chemicals
personalhygiene,to enjoying producedwhen odours
the aroma of freshlybaked dissolvein the mucousinside
bread,to decidingwhom not the nose,and they are much
to sit next to on the bus. more sensitivethan the taste
We think that we smell receptors,being capableof
with our noses,but this is collectingand transmitting
no more true than if we informationthat helps
saythat we hearwith our us to discriminatemany
externalearsor that we see thousandsof differentsmells.
David with our corneas,The part Researchers haveclaimed
Brown of the nosethat we can see that smellis 10,000times
more sensitivethan taste,
and the systemis so complex
that, unlikethe five taste
groups, no researchhasyet
beenable to discoverbasic
categoriesof smell.In fact,
we tend to pay little attention
to the senseof smell,except
for obviousattentionpaid to
bad smells,and the publicity
of the perfume and cosmetics
industry so that we don't
even havea proper range
of words to describeit. Just
considerhow manywords
we haveto descibedifferent
shadesof blue for example
(pale,light, dark,deep,
eggshell,teal, navy,royal,
Prussian, sky,aquamarine,
and so on), and how few
4 . Dbl Review . Jur-v-
Drcrr.,rern2007
words we haveto describe
the variousdifferent smells
of rosesor dogs. So it is very
hard to usewords to explain
exactlyhow somethingsmells
to somebodywho hasn't
smelledit.
Thesenseof smellis
uniquein that, unlikeall
other sensorysystems,it
sendsinformation directlyto
highercentersof the brain
and completelybypasses
the thalamus,which is the
areaof the brainwhere
all other incomingsensory
information is sorted into
the two basiccategoriesof
what needsour attention
and what does not need
our attention.Because it
doesn'thaveto passthrough
this preliminarysortingand
analyzingprocess,smellis
the sensethat puts our brains
into directcontactwith the
environmentin a way that
none of the other sensescan.
So the senseof smellhas
quick,direct,and powerful
connectionsto the limbic
system,the part of the brain
concernedwith primitive
instinctsand drives,the part
that processes emotionsand
memories.In'Understanding
Deafblindness' Geegee
Larringtonrefersto smell
informationtraveling'...on
short, large,fast fibers to
deep within the brain'.This
is why particularsmells
can evokesuchvery strong
emotionsand memories,

all basedupon associations
madethrough previous
experiences, and do it so
quicklyand so vividly.
The senseof smelldepends
on the functioningof
not only the first cranial
nerve(the olfactory nerve)
but also partsof the fifth
cranialnerve(the trigeminal
nerve).Qualitativesmell
sensations (for example
the distinctive and unique
identifyingsmellof a lily,
or an orange,or freshlycut
grass)are transmittedby the
first cranialnerve,whereas
other aspectsof smells(for
examplethe heat,coldness,
sharpness, spiciness,
and irritatingqualities
of a particular smell)are
transmittedby partsof the
fifth cranialnerve.lt is helpful
to know that more than the
'smellnerve'is involvedin
our perceptionof smell.In
the populationof children
with CHARGE Syndrome,for
example,which is one of the
leadingcausesof congenital
deafblindness in children,we
know that about 42o/ohave
damageto the first cranial
nerveand 43% havedamage
to the fifth cranialnerve,so
that thereis a high incidence
of missingor reducedsense
of smell.
Likethe taste receptors,
the smellreceptorsdevelop
veryearlyin a foetus,
stimulatedby chemicals
in the amnioticfluid that
...smell
isthesensethatputsourbrains
intodirectcontactwith the environment
a waythat noneof the othersenses
they inhaleand exhale
whilestillin the womb, so
that babiesare born with
an alreadywell developed
senseof smell.Babiesalso
appearto be born with an
innateabilityto detectbad,
aversivesmells,sinceit is
reportedthat one-dayold
babiesgivefacialexpressions
that indicaterejectionwhen
they are exposedto fish or
rotten egg smells.But the
fact that we experience so
much smellsensationbefore
birth complicatesthis whole
area,just as it doeswith
earlytaste preferencesand
aversions. Sincebabiesare
exposedto a selectionof
'smells'overa long periodin
the womb this seemslikely
to exerta powerfulinfluence
on their smellpreferences
immediatelyafter birth.
Thereis clearlyexperience-
dependentlearningin the
smellsense,but whetherthe
responseto certainsmells(in
particularwhat we consider
to be bad smells)is innateor
not hasstill not beensettled.
As with taste,so our sense
of smelldeclinesas we get
older,so thereis a double
impacton the lossof flavour
from food and drink,as
well as on more generalized
aspectsof environmental
awareness. By 80 years
of age 80% of peopleare
reportedto havesomemajor
smelldysfunction,and 507o
arefunctionally anosmic
in
can
(the word usedto describe
someonewho haslost some
or all of theirsenseof smell).
Not only is there a lossof the
senseof smell,but alsoa loss
of the abilityto discriminate
betweensmells.Disturbance
of the senseof smellhas
many possiblecauses.In
most instances,lossof
smellis causedby nasal
and sinusdisease, upper
respiratorytract infection,or
headtrauma.Patientswith
neurodegenerative d iseases,
suchas Alzheimer'sdisease,
experience significantloss
of smellperception.In fact,
one of the common very
earlystagesof Alzheimer's
is a lossof smellsensitivity.
Medications,especially those
that increasedehydration
and limit mucousproduction,
are alsoan importantand
frequentlyoverlookedcause
of smellimpairment.
Smelland tasteare the
two chemicalsenses,so
calledbecausethey detect
chemicals, and smells
and tastesare,of course,
chemicals. With both of
thesesenseswe sampleour
environmentfor information.
Unliketaste,of course,
smellcan signaloverlong
distancesand so form part
of our earlywarningalarm
system.With our senseof
smellwe are continuously
testingthe qualityof the
air we breathe,which will
alert us to potentialdangers
J u t v- D r c e v e e2n0 0 7 . D b l R e v i e w. 5
 Therearealsosuggestions
that smellcaninfluencearousal
levels,mood,emotions,the immunesystem,and the
systemthat produces
endocrine and controlshormones.
a greatdealcanbe communicated
andcontrolled
without us evenknowingit.
likesmokeor leakinggas,
as well as informingus of
other relevantinformation,
suchas the presenceof
food, or cooking,or of
anotherperson.Thesense
of smellalsoservesa
recognition function,in
that we all haveour own
uniquesmelland we can
recogniseand be recognised
by our smell.Somechildren
with deafblindness very
clearlysniff other people
becausethis is a help to
them in identifyingfamiliar
individuals. Research has
shownthat childrencan
distinguishbetweenthe smell
of theirsiblingsand other
childrenof the sameage,and
alsothat babiesrecognise
their own mothers'smelland
mothersrecognisetheir own
babies'smell.Emotioncan
be communicated by smell,
as when dogsaresaidto pick
up and respondto the smell
of fear in humans.Research
in the 1990sshowedthat
peoplecan discriminate
betweenthe smellof people
watching"happy"and "sad"
films,which suggests that
the emotionsof others,for
examplefeal contentment,
and excitement,may
thereforebe transmitted
and recognizedby smell.
How we smell,why we
smell,and the impactof
smellon our everydaylife
are poorlyunderstood,and
we certainlyunderestimate
6 . Dbl Review. Jurv- Drcevsen 2007
So
by smell
the importanceof smellto
our functioningand to our
generalwell-being.Research
suggestsa closecorrelation
betweenmissingsenseof
smelland depression, for
example.Physiologically,
the two chemicalsenses
of tasteand smellaid
in normaldigestionby
triggeringgastrointestinal
secretions.Thereare also
suggestions that smell
can influencearousal
levels,mood, emotions,
the immunesystem,and
the endocrinesystemthat
producesand controls
hormones.So a great deal
can be communicated and
controlledby smellwithout
us evenknowing it.
The senseof smellis
intimatelylinkedwith
memory smellevokes
memories.Damageto the
temporalcorticalregionof
the brain,the site of memory,
doesn'taffectthe abilityto
detectsmell,but, rathel
preventsthe identificationof
the smell,becausewe must
first remembera smellbefore
we can identifyit. Smell
memoryfallsoff lessrapidly
than other sensorymemory
in fact smellmemory
normallylastsa long time.
Likethe stimuliwe receive
through other senses,a smell
can becomeassociated with
a particularexperience and
the samesmellcan recall
whole complexmemories,
completewith all associated
emotions;smellis betterat
this memorycue effectthan
other senses,and it doesit
veryquicklyand powerfully.
FrenchnovelistMarcelProust
claimsthat:
'When
nothing e/sesubsrsts
from the past,after the
people are dead, after
the things are brokenand
scattered...the smelland
taste of things remain poised
a long time, like souls...
bearing resiliently,on tiny
and almost impalpable drops
of their essence,the immense
edifice of memory.'
Thisis entirelyunconscious,
althoughcountless studies
haveshown that recallof
specificfactualinformation
can be enhancedif the
originallearningwas done
in the presenceof a smell
and that samesmellis
presentedat the time of
recall.But researchhasalso
shown that smellmemory
is contextdependentand
can be modifiedin the light
of new experience, which
impliesthat our smellsense
is continuouslydynamic,
updatingas we liveand
experiencenew things.
Sm elland children
with deafblindn es s
Most of us haveheard
storiesabout the surprising

effectsof smellsensations
on somechildrenwith
deafblindness. A young
childwith significant visual
and hearingimpairments
who alwaysbecamevery
upsetwhen beingtaken into
the hospitalbuildingeven
though he could not possibly
haveseenand recognized
the buildingnor understood
from spokenconversations
that he was beingtakento
a hospital.Anotherchild
would becomeexcitedand
beginto salivateas lunchwas
beingcookedin the room
next door,eventhough he
had not seenor heardthe
food being prepared.An
olderchildwould routinely
searchfor the hand of every
new personwho enteredher
classroomand lift it to her
noseverydeliberatelyand
sniff it; then shewould either
drop the handand walk
away,or shewould smileand
embracethe other person.
Whena girlwith profound
disabilities was allowed
time to smellthe dishof
lavender-scented oil that was
alwaysusedin her weekly
massagesessionher eyes
would open wider,shewould
becomegraduallymore
animated.and shewould
breakher customarysilence
with quietvocalizations.
All of theseare examples
of waysin which the sense
of smellcan offer vital and
meaningfulinformationto
childrenwith deafblindness
and enablethem to connect
with theirenvironment and
to recognizeand anticipate
what is comingcorrectly.
Somechildrenwith
deafblindnessare anosmic,
they haveno senseof smell
(we think that this is the
casewith manychildren
with CHARGE Syndrome,
for example,becauseof the
cranialnervedamagealready
mentionedand becauseof
blockednasalpassages),
Howwe smell,
whywe smell,andthe impactof smell
lifearepoorlyunderstood,
on oureveryday
underestimate
certainly the importance
andto our generalwell-being.
our functioning
and othersdon't appearto
show any awarenessof the
senseeventhough it may
be intactand working.In
other caseschildrengive
veryclearevidencethat
smellis an importantsensory
inputfor them,as in the
examplesmentionedabove,
and manychildrenshow
levelsof environmentaland
socialawareness that are
surprising and perplexing
to us (likethe boy upset
by hospitalvisits),until we
realizethat their senseof
smellmust havegiventhem
the essentialinformationthey
neededfor this awareness
and recognition. Indeed,
(Left) Nick feels
and smellsthe ice
cream ball
(Right)Nick
enjoys the heavy
weight and string
smell of the ice
cream ball
if we think of the sensory
deprivationinherentin the
term 'deafblindness' it seems
obviousthat the relative
importanceof other intact
sensorychannelslike smell
and tastemight be enhanced
as long as the inputscoming
through thosesensory
channels are meaningfulfor
the child.
Sometimespeople
involvedwith a child with
deafblindness think of using
smellsin a deliberateway to
andwe
of smellto
help the child know what is
goingon, and in thesecases
the followingguidelines
might be helpful.
1. Firstit is helpfulto observe
for, and discuss,the
waysthe child already
respondsto smells.How
do they show that they
haveperceiveda smell,
and which smell?Canthey
locateits sourcein the
room? Do they seekout
smells?Do they recognize
smells,and how do they
show that they do? These
are all importantquestions
to be askingand discussing
beforeany work is done
- . o
 on enhancingsmellsor
addingnew smellsto the
child'senvironment.
2. Helpingthe childto
becomemore awareof
smellsthat are already
presentin their existing
environments and in their
regularroutinesmight be
a usefulthing to do, and
thereare usuallymany
more of theseroutine
smellsaroundthan we
realize.Thisidea might
involvestrengthening
theseexistingsmellsif
this is possible, or it might
mean investigatingwaysto
draw the child'sattention
to the smellsin a way that
helpsthem connectthe
smellwiththe upcoming
activity.Theseactivities
might alsohelpthe child
to learnto seekout smells
more consciously and
deliberately. Timespent
exploringand thinking
aboutthis,and discussing
your ideaswith others,
shouldbe helpful.
3. Any ideasabout
introducingnew smells
artificiallyshouldbe
treatedwith caution.
lf the new smellis not
alreadyan integralpart
of the activity or of the
environmentit might,
in fact, be a distraction
and createconfusion
for the child.Sincethe
smellis being introduced
artificiallyit might also
be difficultfor everybody
involvedwith the child
to rememberalwaysto
introduceit consistently
and appropriately, and to
rememberexactlywhich
smellis to be usedwith
which activityor in which
location.
4. Many smellsreleasedinto
the atmosphereremain
perceptiblefor a very
considerable periodof
time, and they can't be
'put away' likewe would
switchoff a light or a
radio, or removea toy
from a childand put it
away in a drawer.lf too
many differentand strong
smellsare deliberately
introducedin one place
they will blendtogether;
which could cause
confusionand distraction,
and might evenbe a
potentialhealthhazard
(dependingupon the type
of chemicalsbeing used).
Everybodyin the room will
be exposedto thesesmells,
not just the childfor
whom they are intended.
It is reportedthat the
senseof smell 'tires'and
the nosebeginsto loseits
sensitivityafter exposure
to three or four different
smellsin succession.
5. All of us have
hypersensitivities to certain
smellsand to certain
intensitiesof smell,and,
whilesomechildren
with deafblindness
may demonstratethese
hypersensitivities with
obviousaversiveresponses, than for adults.Many
othersmight not be able
to let us know that they
are suffering.Because of
that unique nerve pathway
from the insideof the nose
directlyinto the brain it is
particularlyimportantto
usecaution,discretion,
and closeobservation
when exposinga child to
a rangeof enhancedsmell
experiences. (Formore
informationon thesekinds
of hypersensitivities see
www. handle.org/miscinfo/
environ.html).
6. Hypersensitivity might
be reducedif essential
oils are usedto provide
certainsmellsrather
than an impuresource
likean aerosolsprayor
someother type of air
freshener.Essential oils
are powerfulchemical
substances,however,
so shouldonly everbe
usedafter consultation
with an aromatherapist.
Essential oils can be used
in massagesessions,
and this is one activity
where it seemslike a very
good ideato introduce
a consistentsmellin the
massagelotion to help to
'label'the activityfor the
child with deaf-blindness.
lf usedin a massage
lotiontheseoilswill be
absorbedboth through
the noseand through the
skinso it is particularly
importantto consultan
aromatherapist and to
follow all safetyguidelines.
Formassagepurposes
any essential oil should
alwaysbe greatlydiluted
in a blandcarrieroil, and
the dilution needsto be
greaterfor young children
specialists recommendthat
no essentialoil be used
in massagelotion for the
very youngestinfants,and
then only essentialoil of
lavenderor chamomilebe
usedwith older children
(both of theseoils are said
to havecalming,soothing
properties).
With thanks to CDBS
Email : davidb@sfsu.edu