Researchers at Colorado State University found that smells stimulate certain brain cells that can affect decision-making speed. results published In Current Biology (CB).
The study involved laboratory mice. They had to approach the device, which was a two-tap setup. Fruit-scented sugar water was flowing from one, and mineral oil was flowing from the other.
The scientists sprayed fruit flavoring on the mice’s site and provided the container with fresh water. Mice licking a treat from the mouth of the container connected the fact of emergence with the presence of smell and access to fresh water. But when mineral oil was released from the tap, the rodents did not run to the feeder.
Researchers noticed that rodents quickly learned when not to run to the feeder. They proposed that when a fruity aroma is detected and transmitted through the olfactory bulb (the neural structure of the vertebrate forebrain involved in the sense of smell), special cells in the hippocampus are stimulated. This part of the brain plays a role in emotion formation and the conversion of short-term memory into long-term memory.
It also turned out that the more the cells were stimulated, the faster the mice were guided. The scientists emphasized that their discoveries expand the range of current knowledge about what is involved in the decision-making process in the brain. We are especially talking about quick decisions that are constantly made.
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