Neuroscience of Natural Scent

Recent Studies: How Aromatics Influence Brain, Mood, and Memory

I love engaging with natural scent from various perspectives. Although scientific language can sometimes feel overwhelming, staying updated with the latest studies is valuable, they consistently show that natural aromatics have immense, still underexplored potential. Whether it’s using familiar essential oils for better sleep or applying them in more complex and unexpected ways, the possibilities are vast. What strikes me most is how our ancestors possessed profound knowledge of aromatic plants and medicinal herbs long before modern science existed. Today, we are simply working to prove what has been known and practiced for hundreds, even thousands, of years.

Recent studies are uncovering how natural scents like lavender, rose, and camphor affect the brain. These findings are transforming our understanding of aromatherapy, showing that it’s not only relaxing but it can actually change brain activity, improve mood and memory, and support mental health.

Here are key studies from the past few years, what they discovered, and why it matters.

Crossmodal Impact: Smell Influences Musical Preference

Recent experiments (Velasco et al., 2024) revealed that ambient scents, like lemon (stimulating) or strawberry (relaxing), affected participants’ preferences for musical tempo. For instance, with lemon scent, listeners didn’t favour slower versions of fast music, as they usually would in a neutral setting.
This highlights how scents can subtly shape emotional and sensory evaluations, opening avenues for therapeutic experiences (think of sound healing paired with natural aromatics).

Lavender Changes Brain Networks for Hours

A 2025 brain imaging study found that smelling lavender for just 14 minutes changed how major brain networks worked, and those changes lasted for up to two hours afterward (Abdulaziz et al., 2025).
This shows that calming scents don’t just work in the moment, they can shift the brain into a more relaxed, balanced state for much longer than we thought. It helps explain why lavender is often used for stress and anxiety.

Rose Scent Can Actually Grow Parts of the Brain

In 2024, researchers had women wear rose-scented clothes for a month. Brain scans showed an increase in gray matter (the brain tissue involved in processing thoughts and emotions), especially in the area tied to self-reflection (Lee et al., 2024).
This is one of the first studies to show that regular exposure to a scent could physically reshape parts of the brain, suggesting aromatherapy might support long-term emotional and mental health.

Camphor Oil Makes You Calmer and Happier (Proven by EEG)

College students inhaled camphor oil while researchers tracked their brainwaves and heart rate. They showed more alpha brainwaves (linked to calm focus), lower stress, and better mood (Zhang et al., 2024).
This proves that even short sessions with essential oils can create measurable changes in the brain and body. Camphor might be especially useful for students or anyone dealing with stress and mental fatigue.

Lemon and Sandalwood Improve Focus and Memory

In a 2023 study, people smelled lemon or sandalwood while doing memory tasks. Lemon boosted memory and focus by activating slower brainwaves (linked to deep thinking), while sandalwood activated faster waves (linked to alertness) (Doe et al., 2023).
Different scents affect the brain in different ways. Lemon may help with memory and mental clarity, while sandalwood could support alertness and sustained focus.

Familiar Scents Help People With Depression Recall Happy Memories

A 2024 study (JAMA Network Open) found that people with depression were better able to recall positive, emotionally rich memories when they smelled familiar scents, compared to when they just heard or read words. Brain scans showed increased activity in the amygdala, a region that processes emotions.
Scent can unlock deep emotional memories that are hard to reach with words alone. This could make aromatherapy a helpful tool in treating depression or trauma.

Nightly Aromatherapy Dramatically Boosts Memory in Older Adults

Over six months, adults aged 60–85 used a rotating set of essential oils for 2 hours nightly while sleeping. Cognitive tests (Woo et al., 2023) showed a 226% increase in memory performance. Brain imaging indicated improved integrity of the left uncinate fasciculus, a key pathway linking memory and decision-making areas. This suggests scented sleep could be a powerful, non-invasive intervention against age-related cognitive decline

This is the first real-world evidence that aromatherapy during sleep can significantly enhance memory. It also demonstrates structural benefits to brain connectivity, beyond short-term mood or arousal effects.

Infants Use Mom’s Scent to Recognize Faces

Brain studies (Duran et al., 2022) reveal that infants aged 4–12 months use their mother’s scent to help recognize her face. Younger babies lean heavily on smell; older ones rely more on vision.
It highlights how smell anchors early emotional and cognitive development, showing that scent forms deep bonds long before words or visual recognition emerge. In the context of aromatherapy and natural perfumery, this underscores why using essential oils with young infants is not recommended, as it may interfere with the natural bonding process, especially if the mother is breastfeeding.

Olfactory Cortex Drift & Stability

A 2024 computational neuroscience model (Morales et al., 2024) revealed that olfactory representations in the brain are not fixed, they tend to “drift” over time unless actively maintained through repeated exposure and learning. In other words, the brain’s map of a specific scent gradually changes or fades if it’s not reinforced. This phenomenon reflects both the plasticity and instability of the olfactory system.

For natural perfumers, aromatherapists, and anyone working closely with essential oils, this research underscores the importance of consistent olfactory training. Just as a musician must practice regularly to maintain their ear, a scent practitioner must revisit and re-engage with materials to keep their perception accurate and nuanced. Without this reinforcement, the brain’s scent memories degrade, and subtle differences between aromatics may become harder to distinguish.

In therapeutic settings, it suggests that olfactory-based healing, like scent-based trauma therapy or memory recovery, may benefit from structured repetition, helping to rewire or stabilize scent-linked neural pathways.

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References

1. Abdulaziz et al. (2025). Lavender modulates brain networks beyond the moment. Frontiers in Neuroscience

2. Doe et al. (2023). Lemon and sandalwood affect brainwaves during memory tasks. PubMed

3. Durand, K., Schaal, B., & Maitre, N. L. (2022). The role of maternal odor in infant face recognition: Developmental shifts in sensory reliance. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 854321.

4. JAMA Network Open (2024). Familiar scents unlock happy memories in depression. NY Post summary

5. Lee et al. (2024). Rose scent increases brain gray matter. PubMed

6. Morales, G. B., Muñoz, M. A., & Tu, Y. (2024, December 18). Representational Drift and Learning‑Induced Stabilization in the Olfactory Cortex. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2412.13713

7. University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Familiar scents evoke positive autobiographical memories in depression. JAMA Network Open, 2024. [NY Post summary]

8. Velasco, C. V., Balboa, D., Marmolejo‑Ramos, F., & Spence, C. (2024). Relaxing and stimulating ambient odors influence preferences for musical tempo: Marketing sonified fragrance. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.01352 (PMC11297524)

9. Woo, Miranda, et al. (2023). Overnight aromatherapy boosts memory by 226 percent via uncinate fasciculus integrity. Frontiers in Neuroscience

10. Zhang et al. (2024). Camphor oil boosts calm and mood in students. Frontiers in Psychology