Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh learned that smells are more effective than words in evoking positive memories, which could help people with depression get out of negative thought patterns.

匹斯堡大学的研究人员发现，相比于语言，气味在唤起积极记忆方面更为有效，这对于帮助抑郁症患者打破负面思维模式可能非常有帮助。

Researchers exposed 32 people between the ages of 18 and 55 suffering from major depressive disorder to 12 scents in jars.The scents included Vicks VapoRub, ground coffee, coconut oil, cumin powder, red wine, vanilla extract, clove bulbs, shoe polish, orange essential oil and ketchup.

研究人员让32位年龄在18至55岁之间，患有重度抑郁障碍的人闻了12种不同的气味，这些气味包括维克斯薄荷膏、咖啡粉、椰子油、孜然粉、红酒、香草精、丁香球、鞋油、橙子精油和番茄酱。

After smelling the vial, neuroscientists asked the participants to recall a specific memory and whether it was good or bad.

闻过小瓶里的气味后，神经科学家让参与者回忆一个特定的记忆，并告诉这个回忆的好坏。

Kymberly Young, lead author of the study published in JAMA Network Open, said that depressed people who smelled a familiar scent were more likely to recall a specific memory or event — like them being at a coffee shop a week ago — as opposed to a more general memory of them going to coffee sometime in their life. When compared to word cues, smells evoked memories that felt more “vivid, immersive and real.”

研究的主要作者Kymberly Young在《美国医学会开放网络》上发表的研究中说，闻到熟悉的气味的抑郁症患者更容易回忆起特定的记忆或事件——比如他们一周前在咖啡店的情景——而不是他们生活中某个时候去过咖啡店的更泛泛的记忆。与语言提示相比，气味唤起的记忆感觉更“生动、身临其境和真实”。

“It was surprising to me that nobody thought to look at memory recall in depressed individuals using scent cues before,”

“让我感到惊讶的是，之前没有人想到过使用气味提示来研究抑郁症患者的记忆回忆。”

Young explained that activating the part of the brain called the amygdala, which controls the “fight or flight” response, helps with memory recall because the amygdala directs attention to certain events.

Young解释说，激活大脑中控制“战斗或逃跑”反应（应激反应，即面对威胁还是逃避威胁）的杏仁体部分，有助于记忆回忆，因为杏仁体会将注意力引向特定事件。

Young said that improving memory in people with depression could help them heal faster.

Young说，改善抑郁症患者的记忆可以帮助他们更快康复。

“If we improve memory, we can improve problem-solving, emotion regulation and other functional problems that depressed individuals often experience,” Young said in the release.

Young在新闻稿中说：“如果我们能改善记忆，我们就能改善解决问题、情绪调节和抑郁症患者经常遇到的其他功能问题。”

Young plans to use a brain scanner in the future to prove her theory that scents engage the amygdala of depressed people.

Young计划将来使用大脑扫描仪来证明她的理论，即气味能够激活抑郁症患者的杏仁体。

来源：英语点津