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Kids connect alcohol odors with mom's emotions |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: How children respond to the smell of alcoholic beverages is related to their mothers' reasons for drinking, according to a new study from the Monell Chemical Senses Center. When asked to choose between the odor of beer and an unpleasant odor, children of mothers classified as 'Escape drinkers' were more likely than children of Non-escape drinkers to choose the unpleasant odor. "Children's responses to odors provide us with a window into their emotions," says study lead author Julie Mennella, PhD, a Monell biopsychologist. "When given a choice between beer and pyridine -- the smell of rotten eggs -- children of mothers who drink to relieve tension and worry choose pyridine as smelling better. In the study, which appears in the journal Alcohol, 145 children between the ages of 5 and 8 years were presented with seven pairs of odors. Mennella notes that because odor information travels directly to areas of the brain that deal with non-verbal aspects of emotion and memory, studying children's responses to odors provides insights into their emotional worlds. Because of this, children of Escape drinkers were exposed to alcohol odors more often. These children also experienced alcohol in a different emotional context, as the questionnaires revealed that their mothers were more tense and more likely to worry and feel guilty about their drinking. "Even before their first taste, young children are learning about alcohol and about why their parents drink. Using a multidisciplinary approach, scientists collaborate in the areas of: sensation and perception, neuroscience and molecular biology, environmental and occupational health, nutrition and appetite, health and well being, and chemical ecology and communication. For more information about Monell, visit www.monell.org.
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