Mealtime can provide opportunities to connect with someone experiencing memory loss and tap into deeply rooted memories. “If you’re going to make your father’s favorite meal, think about how you can delve into it as an experience,” Aguirre says. Dr. Kramer notes that several senses associated with cooking and eating dishes, including smell and taste, are closely related to memory. Both the olfactory bulb, the main receiving center for smell, and the insular cortex and frontal operculum (also called the gustatory cortex), responsible for perception of taste, are closely connected to the amygdala, an area involved in emotional learning. The olfactory nerve, which conveys the sense of smell to the brain, is also close to the hippocampus, one of the most important brain structures for memory. And the combined effect of smell and taste—what neuroscientists who study this field call “flavor”—can be especially powerful at conjuring long-held memories charged with emotion, says Joel Salinas, MD, MBA, FAAN, assistant professor of neurology at NYU Langone Health and chief medical officer at Isaac Health, a clinic in New York City for brain health and memory problems.Favorite Meals May Trigger Memories in People with Dementia – https://www.brainandlife.org/articles/food-may-trigger-memories-in-people-with-dementia