The Irrational: Does smell really unlock memories?

In The Irrational‘s second episode, Jesse L. Martin’s Alec Mercer used smell to unlock a memory. Is this something that can really happen?

The brain is a wonderful thing. There are still many studies to try to understand it, especially when it comes to traumatic events.

One thing the brain does is try to protect us. Alec Mercer having minimal memories of the explosion at the church isn’t all that surprising. We tend to forget the details of traumatic events to protect ourselves. Of course, those memories can come back, but not all of them do. There are times that we need to safely unlock the memories to be able to heal from them.

During the second episode, Mercer used the sense of smell to unlock a memory of the past. Can this really happen?

The senses are the key to memories in The Irrational

The Irrational certainly brings up plenty of facts and statistics about human behavior. Is it really that surprising to see that the sense of smell is a powerful way to unlock memories? Sound and visual cues can also help. Taste can also be a great way to bring up memories, but studies show that odors are the most powerful way to bring up memories.

I can say for a fact that smells do bring things up. There are many times that I’ll smell something and immediately find myself taken back to a time in my past. Then there are times that my brain tries to place where I remember a scent from, and I find that it’s trying to pull a memory from the distant past.

If you are going to do something like Mercer to unlock a memory of the past, it’s important to do it safely. Unlocking memories can be triggering and difficult if not done under the right circumstances.

The Irrational airs on Mondays at 10/9c on NBC and streams the following day on Peacock.