“From an evolutionary point of view, we typically don’t think of the nose as very important,” said Dr. GarySchwartz, professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Arizona. “But it is stuck square in the middle ofthe face. Why would something that was less relevant to normal activities be so prominent? It implies there issomething more important there than we have realized.”Indeed, scientists are learning that fragrance affects us more than previously thought. New research indicates thatsmells influence our minds, our moods and our bodies. Although we know a great deal about the eyes and ears, weonly partly understand smell. According to Charles Wysocki, an olfactory scientist at the Monell Chemical SensesCenter in Philadelphia, we do know that an odor is first detected by the olfactory epithelium, a sort of receptor sheetlocated in the nose. This starts a chain of events that leads to an information flow to the olfactory bulb and limbicsystem of the brain, which plays a key role in regulating body functions and the emotions. Some of the most significantnew findings about smell show that scents can keep people more alert and improve performance of a routine task.Subjects tackled a 40-minute vigilance test, which required them to watch a video screen and press a button whenever acertain line pattern appeared. While performing the task, some were intermittently given a whiff of peppermint or lilyof the valley through oxygen masks. Scientists discovered that those workers receiving the fragrances performed 25%better than those given only whiffs of pure air. Although it isn’t clear exactly how fragrance works, it is believed thatthis finding may soon have practical applications. Truck drivers, even passenger car drivers, who need to keep alertwhile traveling long distances, could find it helpful.