Thebrain changes the way it works during coldsin order topreserve and protect the sense of smell, according to a study by Northwestern Medicine of Chicago (United States). Thus, it is explained that changes occur in the brain when you have a blocked nose and there is a “lack of olfactory information” that the brain tries to compensate.
To conclude this, this Wu Keng Nei and his colleagues have analyzed for a week the evolution of 14 people with blocked nostrils, who breathed normally at night. Analyzing their brains they observed that, when the sense of smell was atrophied due to a constipation, aincreased activity of the orbitofrontal cortex and a decrease in activity of the piriformis cortex, both involved in the perception of odors. When the nasal congestion disappeared, the activity of the brain changed again and it returned to its normal state. In a way, the researchers conclude, it could be said that our thinking organ “works overtime” to ensure that this sense is so acute once recovered from the cold. Once this point is reached, brain activity returns to normal, experts say.
In the study, which has been published in the journalNature Neuroscience, the scientists suggest that further research on the short-term reactions of the olfactory system after deprivation of normal respiration “may provide new insights into how to deal with this problem in a chronic context.”
