A very exciting area of ongoing research in Alzheimer’s Disease and other neurodegenerative disorders is the role of our sense of smell. For more than 25 years Alzheimer’s researchers have been working to understand its importance. The olfactory system has direct links to the brain areas involved in memory and emotion, including the hippocampus and limbic system where Alzheimer’s Disease changes start. Evidence has found that loss of the sense of smell is an early symptom of several neurocognitive disorders including Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease. In fact, it has been recently posited that olfactory dysfunction may serve as both a biomarker and a therapeutic target in early Alzheimer’s Disease.
It is now acknowledged that cognitive exercises can build cognitive reserve. To see that benefit, those activities need to be novel and varied. Doing the same cognitive activity repeatedly improves performance on that task but does not show the same broad benefit as activities that are novel and varied. (Park, DC, 2013)
Olfactory stimulation, which is the intentional use of varied scents to engage the sense of smell has now been found, in several studies, to act in a similar way to improve memory and verbal learning. In fact, it is felt that olfactory stimulation may even be neuroprotective.
Dr. Michael Leon, Professor, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior of the University of California, Irvine, has presented widely on the potential benefit of novel olfactory stimulation in influencing cognitive ability and brain health. In a landmark study at UCI, published in 2023, adults aged 60-85 years old experienced a 226% improvement in memory retention when exposed to a changing aroma each night over 6 months. (Woo et al, 2023)
The use of olfactory stimulation may be a new safe, nonpharmacological treatment to improve cognitive health. We look forward to the continuing research on this exciting potential new treatment.
References
- Park, DC, The Impact of sustained engagement on cognitive function on older adults: The Synapse Project, Psychological Science (24) 10, 1985-1992.
- Woo, C. C., Miranda, B., Sathishkumar, M., Dehkordi-Vakil, F., Yassa, M. A., & Leon, M. (2023). Overnight olfactory enrichment using an odorant diffuser improves memory and modifies the uncinate fasciculus in older adults. Frontiers in neuroscience, 17.
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