It is one of those things that we have been taking for granted without asking ourselves much about them: in general, we tend to think that, compared to animals, our sense of smell is quite poor. Nothing more far from reality. The latest studies in this regard indicate that human beings are capable of distinguishing around a trillion olfactory stimuli. In fact, the number of neurons present in the olfactory bulb of many species of mammals is similar ; for example, in ours, this structure is quite large if we compare it with that of some rodents, which usually have a better sense of smell.
Now, John McGann, a neuroscientist at Rutgers University – New Brunswick, in the USA, points out in an essay published in Science that all this misunderstanding is due to a conceptual error that originated in the 19th century and has lasted until our days. McGann, who has been investigating this matter for 14 years, holds Paul Pierre Broca, a French neuroanatomist, responsible. In essence, he indicates in his writings that our species has a small olfactory area in relation to the brain because the development of intelligence and ‘free will’ made us not depend on smell to survive, as happened with other animals. This idea caught on with the biologists, anthropologists and psychologists who succeeded him, and even Sigmund Freud even proposed that such atrophy played a certain role in the appearance of mental illnesses.
Until recently, it was assumed that people could not allow themselves to be dominated by this sense. However, we can capture and discriminate a wide range of odors. “We are more sensitive than rodents and dogs to many of them, and like them, we also have the ability to follow tracks,” says McGann. In addition, the sense of smell significantly influences our behaviors and affective states, and intervenes in one way or another in aspects as different as the choice of our favorite food or partner. ” Some studies also link the loss of the sense of smell with the appearance of different illnesses , such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, so it would be necessary to study them further,” says McGann.
