Latest news with #emotion
Forbes
5 days ago
- Health
- Forbes
2 Reasons Why Nostalgia Has A Unique Scent — By A Psychologist
Here's how your sense of smell holds the key to your most vivid and emotional memories. When the aroma of freshly baked cookies wafts through the air, suddenly, you're back in your grandmother's kitchen. You're a child once more, gazing at those golden treats in anticipation. This nostalgic journey is your brain's way of responding to the powerful connection between your sense of smell and your memory. Smell doesn't just evoke memories; it anchors them in emotion, linking past and present in a sensory flash. In a 2016 study published in Brain Sciences, author Rachel S. Herz highlights how smell is not only a powerful trigger for memory, but plays an essential role in enhancing our well-being. She found that smells linked to positive memories can boost positive emotions, reduce negative moods, curb cravings and lower stress, including markers of inflammation in the body. So, how does a familiar scent transport you decades into the past? Here are three reasons why smell is so deeply tied to memory and emotion, and why it's important to make the most of this connection. What makes smell so potent in triggering memory lies in its unique pathway to the brain. Unlike sight and sound, which can take a longer, more roundabout route to reach memory centers, smell has a direct passageway. In a prior study, Herz describes how different senses (smell, sight and sound) trigger memories and emotions. She found that smells, like campfire or fresh-cut grass, brought up more emotional and powerful memories than when the same cues were presented visually or through sound. Picture this — a high-speed train zooming past stations, heading straight for its destination. That's how your sense of smell directly works with the brain. The olfactory bulb, where scent signals are processed, sits close to the hippocampus and amygdala — the very regions responsible for memory and emotion. This proximity gives smell a VIP pass to your brain's most intimate spaces. Herz also explains that smell-induced memories are often vivid and emotionally charged. Think of it like this — while sight might be the photograph in your mind's eye, smell is the living, breathing experience that takes you back to the moment as if it were happening right now. Smell can resurrect entire chapters of your life with startling clarity. Imagine that your mind is a vast library, where memories gather dust on forgotten shelves. A specific smell acts like a librarian dusting off an old book, placing it in your hands before you even realize it's missing. A 2023 review suggests that certain flavors and smells can vividly transport us back to specific moments in our lives, even when other details have long been forgotten. Smells that are linked to childhood often have the ability to evoke powerful autobiographical memories that define your understanding of yourself today. This phenomenon is called the 'Proust Effect.' Researchers highlight how the Proust effect also creates a sense of connection with others and gives life more meaning, reawakening moments that have otherwise faded into obscurity. 'The 'Proust phenomenon' from the eponymous literary anecdote where Marcel Proust took a bite of madeleine biscuit that had been dipped in Linden tea and was suddenly transported to a long forgotten moment in his childhood, occurs when an odor triggers the recollection of a meaningful past personal episode,' Herz explains in her 2016 study. This sensory time travel is rooted in your brain's architecture. A 2012 study published in Neuropsychologia confirms how memories triggered by smells tend to be older, more emotional and feel more like time-travel compared to memories triggered by other senses. Memories triggered by smell come steeped in emotional layers. The smell of rain-soaked earth, known as petrichor, offers a perfect example of this idea. For some, it brings comfort and nostalgia, stirring up memories of quiet afternoons after a summer storm in their childhood. Whereas, for others, that same scent might carry a tinge of sadness, perhaps reminding them of a time they felt loss or isolation. This emotional potency isn't arbitrary. When your brain stores a memory, it doesn't just catalog the details — it renders the feelings too. It's likely that the more emotionally intense the experience, the more strongly the memory is imprinted. So, the next time a familiar scent suddenly brings back a memory, take a moment to appreciate it. Your brain is opening a door to the past, letting you revisit stories and emotions that might have been forgotten. Do you often feel nostalgic? Take this science-backed test to learn if you might benefit from being more grounded in the present: Nostalgia Scale
Khaleej Times
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
'The Last of Us' Season 2: Creators break down character deaths and Season 3 plans
After a two-year hiatus, The Last of Us stormed back into our lives with its soul-shattering second season. Clocking in at just seven episodes over seven weeks, the season was shorter than the first—but packed with devastating emotion, brutal choices, and some of the most iconic moments lifted straight from the game and elevated through live action. The result? A season that gave longtime fans a reason to grieve all over again—and newcomers a masterclass in morally complex storytelling. Ahead of the finale, which aired on OSN+ on Monday in the UAE, I attended a virtual press conference with co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. As someone who has played the video game and watched the show evolve in real time, it was great to see the makers diving deep into character analysis and hinting at a bigger, more layered Season 3. A shorter season, a heavier punch Where Season 1 introduced us to Joel and Ellie's bond against the backdrop of a ravaged America, Season 2 flips the emotional equation. Joel's death, a moment to relive for those who played the game, and still gutting to watch, is the narrative thunderclap that reshapes the world for Ellie—and us. Unlike in the game, where players controlled Joel and Ellie, the show allows us to watch them with some distance, yet ironically brings us closer to their emotional core. Craig Mazin described the death scene as the moment he was both most eager and terrified to shoot: 'It wasn't so much the mechanics of Joel dying… it was capturing the emotional devastation," he said. "Bella (Ramsey) was shattering in that moment.' Pascal's version of Joel is notably softer and more open than Troy Baker's gruff, emotionally barricaded portrayal in the game—a shift Druckmann acknowledged. He said, "Pedro's Joel is more articulate, more outwardly vulnerable… It felt right for the version of the story we're telling.' The show expands Joel's emotional vocabulary, especially in the penultimate episode like the porch scene, where he tells Ellie: ' Because I love you… in a way you can't understand.' That line—absent from the game—was added to underline the depth of his paternal bond with Ellie, and set the stage for her heartbreak-fueled arc. Blood, guilt, and the drug of revenge This season didn't just chart a path through post-apocalyptic Seattle; it charted Ellie's psychological breakdown. From a relationship that blooms with Dina (Isabella Merced, who is brilliant in the show), to a series of increasingly violent choices, Ellie walks a razor's edge. One of the season's darkest moments—the accidental killing of a pregnant doctor, Mel—is handled with almost surgical cruelty by the writers. 'If you're rooting for Ellie, that moment should make you feel dirty,' said Mazin. 'This breaks her,' he added. 'And Bella's performance in that scene is astonishing.' Druckmann added that Ellie's obsession mirrors addiction. He said, "You can get over it… the question is, can she ever fully get over it?' The idea that revenge is not a satisfying conclusion but a corrosive journey is baked into every scene. By the finale, Ellie is emotionally hollowed out—poised on the brink of a confrontation with Abby that the show smartly saves for a later season. What's coming in Season 3? While Mazin and Druckmann refused to share exact plot points about Season 3, they made it abundantly clear: Abby's story is next. As in the game, we're likely to shift into her point of view—and actress Kaitlyn Dever, who plays Abby, is not going anywhere. 'We haven't seen the last of Kaitlyn Dever… or Bella Ramsey… or a lot of people who are currently dead,' teased Mazin. This aligns with the structure of The Last of Us Part II, where Abby's journey becomes central—and controversial—for players. The show seems prepared to embrace that polarising shift, with Druckmann adding, 'We're telling you next season… this other story is going to be really important.' And what about Tommy, Joel's brother, played by Gabriel Luna? I asked them why his role felt muted this season, compared to his more active presence in the game. Mazin pushed back: 'He defended Jackson from an entire assault… I don't know if I agree with the premise.' But then he added something more intriguing: 'There's the potential of seeing this other side of Tommy… once he's outside the confines of Jackson.' That promise of a more vengeful, morally flexible Tommy is something fans can—and should—look forward to. Druckmann's response? "Just wait." A story still haunted by Joel Though Joel dies early in the season, his ghost lingers in every frame. Whether it's Ellie hearing his voice, Dina recalling his kindness, or even the blood-stained memory of what he did at the end of last season's finale, his actions shape everyone's present. Mazin summarised it best: 'Everything is under the cloud—or sunlight—of Joel. What Joel did to Abby and what he did for Ellie. That will never change.' Even the show's structure continues to echo the past. Season 2 ends just before the iconic Ellie vs. Abby showdown. Why stop there? 'This is part of the genetics of how this story functions,' said Mazin.'We have to take risks… and HBO supports us in doing that.' With Ellie emotionally shattered, Jesse (Young Mazino) dead, Tommy lost in vengeance, and Abby's perspective waiting in the wings, The Last of Us is gearing up for a third—and likely penultimate—season that will test every character's core beliefs. This is a show that's never been about who lives or dies—it's about what survives in the aftermath: grief, love, guilt, and memory.
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
David Squires on … moving scenes and mind games as Crystal Palace win the FA Cup
Our cartoonist on the joy, emotion and overthinking that made the Wembley final captivating for once
Free Malaysia Today
17-05-2025
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
Experts say our brains are in sync with music
Research suggests that brain rhythms sync with sound to create emotion, movement and meaning. (Envato Elements pic) PARIS : A simple beat, a heady melody, and our body responds instinctively – a foot starts tapping, or we start to sway in time with the beat. So what's going on in our brains? A North American study published in the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience offers a surprising explanation for this phenomenon. It claims we don't just hear music – our brains and bodies physically resonate with it. Led by Edward Large from the University of Connecticut and Caroline Palmer from McGill University, this study presents a bold hypothesis supporting the idea of neural resonance theory (NRT). Conventional wisdom attributes our taste for music to learned expectations or prediction mechanisms. But NRT suggests that our brain oscillations fall into sync with music. 'This theory suggests that music is powerful not just because we hear it, but because our brains and bodies BECOME it,' Palmer explained. According to the researchers, the human brain has its own natural oscillations, which can spontaneously synchronise with musical beats. This phenomenon is thought to affect our perception of rhythm, our enjoyment of music, and our instinctive tendency to move to the beat. Remarkably, this neural resonance is not limited to musicians or seasoned music lovers: it is based on universal mechanisms, independent of experience or musical training. NRT opens up concrete perspectives for potential applications. It could find use in therapeutic tools, for example, particularly for strokes, Parkinson's disease, or depression. It could also enrich research into artificial intelligence to promote more emotionally sensitive interactions between machines and humans, or renew musical teaching methods with tools better adapted to our cerebral rhythms. Above all, this theory sheds new light on a universal phenomenon – that of music's ability to transcend cultures and languages. By suggesting that our brains share common resonance patterns, NRT may reveal part of the origin of our intimate and universal connection to music. These discoveries highlight how music can be more than mere entertainment: it engages our bodies and brains in a much deeper way than we might ever have imagined.
Japan Times
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
Speak like you scroll: A roundup of recent Japanese slang
Nostalgic-looking photos can give off an emotional vibe, one that Japanese youth refer to as "emoi." | GETTY IMAGES
