Helmholtz Jonas Olofsson, March 27: The ”bestial” sense of smell and its cognitive capacity development

Helmholtz lecture Jonas Olofsson (Department of Psychology, Perception and Psychophysics, Stockholm University)

Title: The ”bestial” sense of smell and its cognitive capacity

Abstract: The sense of smell, olfaction, serves essential roles in food behavior, emotional attachment and disease avoidance. For centuries, philosophers and researchers have overlooked olfaction as a cognitively capable sense, and pioneering brain researcher Paul Broca called olfaction ”bestial”. I will present research showing how human olfaction is endowed with cognitive capabilities through rich interactions with cross-sensory and top-down processes. My talk focuses on recent work from my team regarding sensory-cognitive interactions across time (i.e. predictive coding) and space (i.e. navigation and spatial memory), and for each of these dimensions, I will present evidence that olfactory behavioral and brain processes deviate from those of other senses. While often neglected by cognitive scientists, olfaction provides a novel domain for exploring the diversity of human cognition

Location: Ruppert Paars (Leuvenlaan 21, Utrecht)

Helmholtz Lectures take place from 4 to 5pm, with drinks afterwards next to the lecture room.

Helmholtz agenda: https://helmholtzschool.nl/category/agenda/

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