Posted on 06/25/2008 1:38:34 PM PDT by blam
Kids Connect Alcohol Odors With Mom's Emotions
ScienceDaily (June 25, 2008) — How children respond to the smell of alcoholic beverages is related to their mothers' reasons for drinking, according to a new study from the Monell Chemical Senses Center. When asked to choose between the odor of beer and an unpleasant odor, children of mothers classified as 'Escape drinkers' were more likely than children of Non-escape drinkers to choose the unpleasant odor.
"Children's responses to odors provide us with a window into their emotions," says study lead author Julie Mennella, PhD, a Monell biopsychologist. "When given a choice between beer and pyridine -- the smell of rotten eggs -- children of mothers who drink to relieve tension and worry choose pyridine as smelling better. That's pretty powerful."
In the study, which appears in the journal Alcohol, 145 children between the ages of 5 and 8 years were presented with seven pairs of odors. One of the odors was always beer; the others were bubblegum, chocolate, cola, coffee, green tea, pyridine, and cigarette smoke. For each pair, the children indicated which odor they liked better.
Mennella notes that because odor information travels directly to areas of the brain that deal with non-verbal aspects of emotion and memory, studying children's responses to odors provides insights into their emotional worlds.
"Like adults, children are not very good at identifying odors," she says. "However, they are good at telling us whether they like an odor or not. This study shows that whether they like the odor of beer depends not just on how often their mother drinks, but on why she drinks."
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
What if their mothers drink wine or Bourbon?
Interesting concepts, though, whether it’s really a good study or not. The interrelationship of smell and emotion is very complex.
Now...Farts....There's something kids know something about!!
Beer gives you gas, does it?
The Olfactory/Emotion link is fascinating to me. I have heard of procedures to remove olfactory nerves intentionally because some people become so depressed by certain odors.
Yes, the smell cheap whiskey as mom vomits might be more off putting than the smell of cheap wine when mom pops a fifty for a twenty dollar pizza.
The subject of why chickens cross the road is probably more worthy of study.
Chickens cross the road to show the armadillo that it can be done.
I always knew there was a reason but now you’ve ruined my grant proposal! Say, aren’t armadillos just ‘possums with body armor?
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