This time, the research group used an odorous substance called "decanal" contained in citrus fruits, and under two conditions, when there is this odor (odor condition) and when it is not (odorless condition), orange, pink, green, An experiment was conducted to perform a color short-term memory task related to blue.Then, the brain waves at the time of memory recall of the experimental participants were measured, and the "event-related potential P2 component" representing the instantaneous electrical fluctuation of the brain activity was analyzed.

　As a result, only for the orange color, the memory performance was deteriorated under the odor condition rather than the odorless condition.In addition, under odor conditions, P3 showed a low amplitude with respect to orange.

　P3 appearing in the frontal region is known to be associated with attention to information.That is, it is considered that when the scent contained in the citrus fruits was smelled, the attention to the "orange color" also related to the citrus fruits became low, which led to the deterioration of the memory performance for the orange color.

　Prior to the experiment, the research group predicted that the citrus-derived odor would enhance orange memory, but this prediction was brilliantly betrayed.For example, an easily scented ad may be counterproductive.

　This study shows that olfactory information may affect specific visual information, and is expected to be useful for elucidating the integrated mechanism of multiple senses.

Paper information:[PLOS ONE] Olfactory modulation of color working memory: How does citrus-like smell influence the memory of orange color?