When you smell a food your loved one used to cook
when you were a child, this might put a smile on your
face.
Companies use scents in their branding to
evoke certain feelings and emotions.
Smells can evoke an emotional reaction.
The thalamus is the area of the brain between the cerebral
cortex and the midbrain. Its main function is to relay motor and
sensory signals to the cerebral cortex.
When you smell something, that sensory data heads
directly to your amygdala, where emotional info is
processed, which is why people react emotionally to
smells.
example: when you smell something sweet,
it can relax you and make you feel good, or
when you smell something rotten, it can make
you feel disgusted and nauseous.