新奇事件簿 将你带回童年的味道

Scientists have found out why certain smells recall feelings of nostalgia¹ and can recall distant memories. The scientists say an area of the brain is responsible for assigning memories to smells and for storing them for decades. The area can instantly recall the memories with great clarity years later if a person encounters the smell again. Christina Strauch, from the Ruhr University in Germany, said smells are stored in the olfactory² brain. The word olfactory means anything related to the sense of smell. She said: "It is known that the piriform cortex is able to temporarily store olfactory memories. We wanted to know if that applies to long-term memories as well."

科学家发现了某种味道能够勾起你的怀旧之情并召回遥远记忆的原因。科学家表示大脑中的某个区域负责将记忆分配给不同的味道并储存下来。如果一个人再次闻到这种味道时，这片区域能够立即清楚地召回几年前的记忆。德国波鸿鲁尔大学的Christina Strauch表示，味道被储存在嗅脑中。‘Olfactory’一词指的是各种与嗅觉相关的事物。她说道：“大家都知道梨状皮质能够暂时储存嗅觉记忆。我们想知道它是否也适用于长期记忆。”

There are a multitude of scents³ that can transport us back to our childhood. Smells from cookies baking in the oven or the perfume of an elderly aunt can bring back surprising recollections of growing up. Professor Strauch said certain scents can take you away to another point in time. Strauch said some odours can make you wish you were actually back in a certain point of time, or make you want to escape. She said it depends on whether or not the smell has a positive or negative association. Aromatherapists partly depend on this for their patients. Smells can even encourage you to buy things in stores. Many stores introduce fragrances⁴ to shoppers to evoke⁵ nostalgic memories to buy things they loved years ago.

有很多种气味能够将我们送回童年。烤箱中烘烤饼干的味道或是老阿姨身上香水的味道都能使我们回忆起成长中的回忆。Strauch教授表示某些气味能够及时将你带到另一个记忆点。Strauch还说道，一些气味能够让你祈祷自己是真的回到了过去的某个时候，或者让你想要逃避。她说，这取决于这个味道是有积极还是消极的联系。芳香疗法专家一定程度上就是依靠这个疗养病人。味道甚至能够怂恿你买购物。许多商店里都放置一些芳香剂，激发客户怀旧的记忆，让客户买下心仪已久的东西。

1 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

2 olfactory   

adj.嗅觉的

参考例句：

• He is to develop a sensor to substitute for the olfactory abilities of dogs.克罗克将研制一种传感器用以代替狗的嗅觉功能。
• Based on these findings, Keller suspects that each person has an olfactory blind spot.根据这些发现，凯勒推断，每个人都有一个嗅觉盲区。

3 scents   

n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉

参考例句：

• The air was fragrant with scents from the sea and the hills. 空气中荡漾着山和海的芬芳气息。
• The winds came down with scents of the grass and wild flowers. 微风送来阵阵青草和野花的香气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 fragrances   

n.芳香，香味( fragrance的名词复数 )；香水

参考例句：

• The bath oil comes in various fragrances. 这种沐浴油有不同的香味。
• This toilet soap lathers so nicely and has several fragrances. 这种香皂起泡很多，并且有好几种香味。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 evoke   

vt.唤起，引起，使人想起

参考例句：

• These images are likely to evoke a strong response in the viewer.这些图像可能会在观众中产生强烈反响。
• Her only resource was the sympathy she could evoke.她以凭借的唯一力量就是她能从人们心底里激起的同情。