Smound is a term used to describe a purported perception or sense experience created from the convergence of scents, olfaction

Olfaction

Olfaction is the sense of smell. This sense is mediated by specialized sensory cells of the nasal cavity of vertebrates, and, by analogy, sensory cells of the antennae of invertebrates...

 and sounds in the brain. The word is a portmanteau of "smell" and "sound".

Research by Wesson and Wilson

The concept of smound is based on a study done by Daniel Wesson, PhD and Donald Wilson, PhD, researchers at the Nathan S Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

The study, which was published in The Journal of Neuroscience, traced extracellular recordings from the olfactory tubercles of anesthetized mice. They found that 65% of single tubercle units responded to odours and 19% responded to auditory tones. When the tubercles were subjected to both odour and tone, 29% displayed supraadditive or supressive responses. The authors of the study have suggested that this shows some cross-modulation between the two senses.

Applications

Scientific American has suggested that the results of this study could have a major impact on the study of synesthesia

Synesthesia

Synesthesia , from the ancient Greek , "together," and , "sensation," is a neurologically based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway...

. The researchers plan to patent a device for sniffer dogs which would link inhaled scents with a sound, making the operations of these animals more efficient and effective.

History of the concept

The idea that sounds and scents may be linked in the brain was suggested in 1862 by G. W. Septimus Piesse, who said, "Scents, like sounds, appear to influence the olfactory nerve in certain definite degrees." Piesse also suggested that there may be an octave of odour.