Sloan’s Liniment and Old Memories

    Young woman sniffing roses in a garden

    Have you ever smelled something and the aroma brings back a flood of old memories?

    “Smells do bring back memories,” says Dr. Kenneth Heilman M.D., professor of neurology and health psychology at the University of Florida College of Medicine. “Smell goes into the emotional parts of the brain and the memory parts, whereas words go into thinking parts of the brain.”

    What are some smells that transport you back in time? For this patient, it was the familiar aroma of Sloan’s Liniment.

    — Dr.Joshua Levitt