AP PSYCHOLOGY

SENSATION AND PERCEPTION

BASIC CONCEPTS OF SENSATION AND PERCEPTION

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
Our sense of smell may be a powerful trigger for memories because
A
we are conditioned from birth to make strong connections between smells and events.
B
the nerve connecting the olfactory bulb sends impulses directly to the limbic system.
C
the receptors at the top of each nostril connect with the cortex.
D
smell is a powerful cue for encoding memories into long-term memory.
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -Scents bypass the thalamus and go straight to the brain’s smell center, known as the olfactory bulb. The olfactory bulb is directly connected to the amygdala and hippocampus, which might explain why the smell of something can so immediately trigger a detailed memory or even intense emotion.

Detailed explanation-2: -When we come into contact with an odor, or molecules from volatile substances drifting through the air, the neurons that make up your olfactory receptor cells send a signal to a part of your brain called the olfactory bulb.

Detailed explanation-3: -Decades later, researchers hypothesized that the exceptional ability that smells have to trigger memories-known as “the Proust effect”-is due to how close the olfactory processing system is to the memory hub in the brain.

Detailed explanation-4: -Your sense of smell-like your sense of taste-is part of your chemosensory system, or the chemical senses. Your ability to smell comes from specialized sensory cells, called olfactory sensory neurons, which are found in a small patch of tissue high inside the nose. These cells connect directly to the brain.

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