They point to Vic Vaporub and the smell of ketchup as medicine against depression

a group of researchers University of Pittsburgh (USA) Has made a discovery that may open a new path to treatment Depression For those who find themselves in a particularly negative situation.

According to the results obtained from the study, there are some occasions in which smell can be more effective than words due to the effect it has on our brain. This happens because They can wake us up and take us back to positive memoriesSomething that for many people could be the key to breaking the certainty negative pattern Which can cause depression.

The study was published in the journal JAMA Network Open, a member of the American Medical Association, and revealed 32 people aged between 18 to 55 yearsThose who were suffering from some kind of severe depressive disorder were found to smell different scents in the bottles.

After exposing them to certain smells, they were all asked to remember a specific memory, and later the same thing was done but instead of giving them any smell, For “words of advice”. An example of this was making them smell orange essential oil and later, He read the word “orange”.

Once both processes were completed, the researchers observed that memory retrieval was more powerful after perceiving a smell than after reading words. they were exposed to certain odors They were Vic Vaporub, ketchup, coffeeLavender soap, wine, vanilla or coconut oil, and more.

Since it worked in healthy people, Young decided to try it on people with depression.

As Kimberly Young, a neuroscience researcher and professor of psychiatry at the university, explained, she assured that there is a lot of evidence that patients who suffer from depression have great difficulty remembering past moments, and she assured that the study After In healthy people, those who have been subjected to the same exercise produce more “vivid” memories.

“If we improve memory, We can improve problem solving, Emotional regulation and other functional problems that depressed people often experience, Young said in a statement.

Young said that if part of the brain calls out amygdalain charge of controlling the reaction of “fight or flight”, It helps with memory retrieval, as it focuses attention on certain moments. Thus, he says it is likely that smell activates the amygdala. Neural connections in the olfactory bulb.

He highlighted that depressed people show difficulty in remembering moments of their life in a specific way, and after verifying that healthy people who have been exposed to certain odors, gave birth to happy memoriesdecided to do the same procedure on people suffering from depression and came to the conclusion that These types of exercises help them get quick relief from their symptoms.