{"id":30283,"date":"2017-08-09T19:13:11","date_gmt":"2017-08-09T19:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inhalio.com\/?p=30283"},"modified":"2017-08-09T19:13:11","modified_gmt":"2017-08-09T19:13:11","slug":"keith-kelsens-scent-narrative-ptsd-scent-trauma-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inhalio.com\/china\/2017\/08\/09\/keith-kelsens-scent-narrative-ptsd-scent-trauma-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Keith Kelsen\u2019s Scent Narrative \u00a0 PTSD and Scent Trauma Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Part 1 of this series, we explored Scent Trauma. We reviewed significant studies that held the promise of better understanding the environmental triggers for sufferers of post traumatic stress disorder<\/em>, or PTSD. \u00a0First of all, scents and odors are molecular, genetic and Neurobiology connections to one’s olfactory system. \u00a0We learned that one can \u201cre-experience\u201d PTSD with just a whiff of the original scent and the original tormenting experience can come back in a flash.<\/p>\n

New Research Points to a PTSD Cure<\/strong><\/h4>\n

This same phenomenon offers the promise of \u201cscent therapy\u201d to help one recover. In the recent study, \u201c<\/em>Extinction Reverses Olfactory Fear Conditioned Increases in Neuron Number and Glomerular Size<\/em><\/a>\u201d<\/em> [1]<\/a> it was noted that recovery was possible. \u00a0The research creates hope in an era where we have seen countless consequences from PTSD, suicides, acts of insanity and ongoing trauma for all those concerned. The possibility of a cure would end the suffering of many people worldwide. \u00a0In PTSD, cues that are seemingly not specific actually have the potential to precipitate traumatic memories with strong emotional components.<\/p>\n

Re-programming Fear<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u201cThis is the first study to examine olfactory systems in adult mice with regard to the potential to reverse the behavioral and neuroanatomical effects of emotional learning using extinction,\u201d<\/strong><\/em> said Dr. Filomene G. Morrison, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at McLean Hospital\/Harvard Medical School, the lead author of the paper. \u201c…extinction training\u2014the process of learning that a fearful cue is no longer fearful\u2014in adult rodents closely parallels aspects of exposure-based psychotherapy for humans, where an exposure to a stimulus that was associated with trauma shares many aspects of the initial traumatic memories.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Brain Plasticity is a Key<\/strong><\/h4>\n

For people with\u00a0PTSD, it is very common for their memories to be\u00a0triggered\u00a0by smells, sights, sounds, or even feelings that they experience. The research shows that hope may lay in the reprogramming of the brain.\u00a0 This is known as brain plasticity, the ability to re-program the \u201csoftware\u201d in our own minds. It requires understanding what the \u201ctriggers\u201d are that cause the psychotic reaction. \u00a0These\u00a0triggers\u00a0can bring back memories of the trauma and cause intense emotional and physical reactions.\u00a0 PTSD suffers can feel an increased heart rate, sweating and muscle tension, all indicators of severe stress.\u00a0 In stressful conditions, we react as we are trained.\u00a0 In the case of Military trainees, they react with the core of their training.<\/p>\n

Olfactory Intrusions Trigger PTSD Memory<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Research is showing that a scent can be a trigger to this reaction.\u00a0 It is clinically well known that \u201colfactory intrusions\u201d or scent associations in PTSD disable the individual.\u00a0 \u00a0It\u2019s this involuntary recall of odor memories and the event associated that can cause very irrational behavior in an otherwise normal situation.\u00a0 This is the key to the behaviors and actions others experience around the PTSD sufferer. \u00a0How can scent and smell help cure this?\u00a0 The theory is that, in a safe and supportive environment, to have the patient associate a voluntary recall via a scent that may help them \u201cunlearn\u201d their trauma. By reprogramming the involuntary trigger recall of emotional memories as well have the potential to help to diminish emotional arousal as grounding stimuli.<\/p>\n

Fear Extraction Needs More Study<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Most noteworthy, the work needs to advance. This is especially true in the area of perception of cues involved in both learning and memory. The possibility exists that \u201cfear extraction\u201d may occur in the work of this reprogramming.\u00a0 While scent research goes back decades, even hundreds of years, it still needs more exploration.\u00a0 Despite major advances in the understanding of our olfactory system, the study of emotional memory is still limited. This field is wide open for exploration. I believe the findings will have far reaching effects in developing a treatment.<\/p>\n

The\u201cScent Narrative” is now proven clinically. Various remedies incorporate the use of the audio narrative and the visual narrative. \u00a0Scent is proven to be attached to strong emotions. The physiological well-being is a holistic approach. The olfactory cortex itself also plays an important role in emotional processing. Clinical observations support the notion that scent-evoked memories can play a major role. \u00a0Scent memory is different than other types of memories.\u00a0Learning and Memory are tied to the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala. Together they are all a part of the \u201cneural circuitry\u201d involved in PTSD.<\/p>\n

Virtual Reality (VR) as a PTSD\u00a0Treatment<\/strong><\/h4>\n

PTSD treatment has a new breakthrough, Virtual Reality.\u00a0 In a New York Post<\/em> article, Dr. Dawn Jewell used the immersive nature of \u00a0VR to help patients through exposure therapy, where the patient virtually re-visits the site of an incident with the guidance of a therapist. \u00a0 Scent added to the holistic approach improves this new technique in treating PTSD. \u00a0Positive scent exposure therapy can make progress. Research is validating scent\u2019s impact on health and well-being.<\/p>\n

The study quoted above showed that the most effective route for decreasing anxiety and slowing an overactive mind is inhalation of specific scents! Many are calling it Scent-based Medicine<\/u><\/em> as an alternative to traditional pharmacology.<\/p>\n

Dr. Hans Hatt has Found Scent Receptors Outside the Nose<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Research is quickening on the validation of scent and its impact on health and Scent-based Medicine. \u00a0In understanding the potential cures, we have to understand the complexity of olfactory sensors in the human body. \u00a0Scent receptors are not limited just to the nose, they are in fact distributed throughout the body. \u00a0Dr. Hans Hatt and his team of biologists found that more than 15 of the olfactory receptors that exist in the nose are also found in human skin cells.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve been arguing for the importance of these receptors for years,\u201d said Dr. Hatt, who calls himself,\u00a0The Ambassador of Smell<\/em>, \u201cIt was a hard fight.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The whole concept of scent receptors outside the nose seems impossible.\u00a0 It is, however, scientific fact that our odor receptors are among the most ancient chemical sensors in the body. The conclusive study was done at the\u00a0Ruhr-University Bochum.<\/a>\u00a0Dr. Hatt is a professor at the Faculty of Biology and owner of the chair for cell physiology. \u00a0Especially relevant, he was the first to recognize that olfactory receptors also play an important role in cells outside the nose. \u00a0All leading to the method of deploying the best scents for the reduction of anxiety and stress.<\/p>\n

Reduce Anxiety and Stress with these Scents<\/strong><\/h4>\n

To reduce anxiety and stress, these are the leading scents. \u00a0Scents with the properties to calm individuals include:<\/p>\n