MOUNTAIN LIFE - Coast Mountains | Winter Spring 2019

84 MLCM WINTER/SPRING 2019 However, give someone the smell of the tea and, bam! They’re right back there without even trying. No retrieval required, no searching your memory for details, it’s effortless.” Dr. Chu’s research at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK also found that the odour processing mechanisms in the brain share the same brain structures that process emotion. “What triggers the retrieval of a specific memory is as much the emotion that the smell inspires, as the smell itself,” he says. “Odour processing mechanisms in the brain are so intimately linked to the emotion and memory centres, it’s really no surprise that odours inspire personal memories that have a completely different quality to anything else.” Which means snapping photos of fresh pakoras from the market isn’t the same as just slowing down and enjoying the layers of taste. Those flavours are locking your memories in, and maybe even connecting the savory potato treats with the panic you felt on the harrowing rickshaw ride. And unpleasant emotions are similarly linked—so the stinging scent of antiseptic may instantly and always remind you of getting stitched up in a jungle hospital and carry an association with fear. Scent and taste are connected even when it comes to attraction. Kissing has an olfactory connection, and has been thought to derive from a form of primal sniffing and licking used to select a good match in the animal world. While you may not be able to see much during those wild midnight beach fire parties, your tongue and nose are taking it all in. (The rise of ‘dark dining’ boutique restaurant experiences support this. Turn off the lights, turn on your taste buds.) And when smell or taste triggers some long-forgotten event or experience, there’s nothing you can do to stop it. You also can’t stage it or replicate it. It’s a completely spontaneous moment of time travel that lasts for a fraction of a second but can take you worlds away. So on your next adventure, put the camera down, close your eyes and take a big, deep breath and eat your way into the future. milkshakes banana splitz custom burgers draft beer 2017