Olfaction as a Traumatic Reminder in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

In PTSD, seemingly nonspecific cues have the potential to precipitate traumatic memories with strong emotional components. These conditioned responses in PTSD are hypothesized to be mediated by specific brain areas, i.e., amygdala, hippocampus, and orbitofrontal cortex. Questions about smells as a traumatic reminder should be part of the routine assessment of intrusive memories in PTSD. In addition, smells may have the potential to provide cues to exposure situations in therapy or to facilitate de novo conditioning.