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A Whiff of Wonder

I have been going to Disney since I was five years old. Only a few months after immigrating to the United States, I was taken by family friends for the very first time. I remember how fearful I was of all the characters and many of the rides. Living in Florida, only a few hours away from the Parks, my parents would do their best to bring my sister and me as often as they could. Over the years, I slowly outgrew my fears and began to enjoy myself. While doing some research on potential activities in Paris, something that caught my eye was Disneyland Paris. It had been three years since I had last been to Disney, so I knew that I had to go. 

My experiences in Disney World and now Disneyland Paris throughout the years.                 —

On Sunday, May 29th, Khushi, Sharay, and I boarded the RER A towards Marne-la-Vallée at around 9 A.M. After a few wrong turns, we arrived at the park just minutes after opening. Although the weather was much colder than in Florida, the smells, views, and excitement were all identical. Upon entering the park, the smell of freshly made popcorn surrounded us and tempted me, even though I don’t even like it. Everyone around us seemed to be happily munching on popcorn. This reminded me of an article I had read about the Disney company using smells to persuade visitors to make purchases during their trip. After doing more research, I found that Disney Parks use machines called smellitizers to release smells associated with tasty foods, such as popcorn or chocolate, to increase purchases of those items. Additionally, they also manufacture smells and scents during the rides for the purpose of making guests “forget about everything that may be going on in the world and just really enjoy themselves and their family time and make memories that will last forever” (MacDonald, 2020).

Khushi, Sharay, and I standing at the entrance of Disneyland Paris!                                                          —

The concept of smell as a memory enhancer has been investigated by many scientists before. In a study conducted by Morrin, Krishna, and Lwin in 2011, memories that are associated with or enhanced by smells were tested to see if they can be affected by “retroactive interference”, or the act of diminishing memories after new memories are introduced. After testing one hundred and eight undergraduate students, they found that retroactive interference can have a negative impact on memory retrieval despite being enhanced by smell. However, as soon as the original smell cue is reintroduced, the original memory comes back. This means that, now, anytime I go to the movie theater, I will be reminded of the fun had at Disney!  

This is Figure 2 from Morrin, Krishna, & Lwin (2011) that shows the results of their study. “No interference” refers to participants who did not experience retroactive interference. Overall, those who had a memory enhanced by smell “scented” performed better regardless if with or without interference.


References:

MacDonald, B. (2020, April 15). How Disney Imagineers Unlock the Smells of Storytelling. Retrieved June 4, 2022, from MiceChat website: https://www.micechat.com/256924-how-disney-imagineers-unlock-the-smells-of-storytelling/

Morrin, M., Krishna, A., & Lwin, M. O. (2011). Is scent-enhanced memory immune to retroactive interference? Journal of Consumer Psychology, 21(3), 354–361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2011.02.008

 

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Image 2: Various types of cheese at cheese tasting.

Early in our trip, we visited Fromagerie, a cheese shop, in Paris. I have never been a huge fan of cheese; however, being able to experience the unique tastes of various cheeses native to France was memorable. In class, we discussed a paper on how cheese palatability could provide some stress relief (Fourman et al., 2021). Although cheese may not be my preferred comfort food of choice, it was nonetheless eye-opening to learn about the various cheese making techniques implemented in all parts of Europe. 

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Image 1: Stade de France

This picture was taken when our class went to a Nations League game (soccer) played between the French and Denmark national teams. The game took place at the Stade de France, undoubtedly the biggest sports stadium I had ever been to. The crowd erupted with every French possession and goal. This experience related to our NBB 402W class as we discussed how white matter tracts and brain structural changes take place with repeated blows to the head. Studies have shown that as many as 22% of soccer injuries are concussions, thus increasing the chances of neurocognitive complications for players in the future (Levy et al., 2012). 

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A trip to the fromagerie

On Wednesday, May 25th we visited a Fromagerie for a cheese tasting in Paris! It was a very different experience for me since I am not a fan of cheese. Personally, I like to avoid cheese in all I eat if possible, but I am glad I got to try different kinds of cheese because it was a great experience. We played lots of games and tried 5 different kinds of cheese. We tried the camembert, goat’s cheese, and other cheese made from goat’s milk, cow’s milk, and sheep’s milk.

The 5 kinds of cheese the fromagerie provided us with to taste. The 1st number is the mildest while the 5th has the strongest taste and flavor.

Connecting it back to the NBB class, we did learn that cheese has an attenuating effect on the stress response, although I found a different article that talks about the response of the brain to cheese. The article talks about how cheese like many other dairy products contains casein, and sometimes casomorphins. These substances trigger the same pathways as opiate drugs do. This is very interesting and may shed more light on the addictive properties of cheese and the obesity risk due to highly salted cheese. This can be also linked to neuroethics and discussion of how companies use this knowledge to sell cheese “that you can’t stop eating”.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelpellmanrowland/2017/06/26/cheese-addiction/?sh=328e613a3583

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Nothing shall come betwix my chocolate and I.

On Monday, May 30th we took a class visit to Choco Story-a chocolate museum. This was the most exciting visit for me because I love chocolate enough to be able to survive on only chocolate for the rest of my life!

The visit started with all of us participating in a chocolate workshop. We went down to the basement and saw amazing chocolate sculpture artworks outside the workshop. The huge Eiffel tower sculpture gave me a kick start for the workshop. We began by learning how to cover various foods in melted chocolate including candied orange strips, marshmallows, and chocolate fudge. We could either dip the in dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate. I learned that if the chocolate isn’t churned well enough and melted at the right temperature, it will solidify very easily and turn into a huge chunk of chocolate rock. I had always tried chocolates that included orange peels but had not tried fresh orange peels in fresh dark chocolate and it was the best thing ever! I even got the market the chef got the peels from and got some more from there later.

 

The Huge Eiffel tower chocolate art sculpture. Completely edible!
The various types of food given to us to cover in chocolate. A fork was given for easier dipping. Included: Candied orange strips, marshmallows, and fudge blocks.

After learning how to coat them with chocolate, we made our own chocolate bars. This was the most fun part of the visit because it was a great way to learn from the chef how we can incorporate beautiful designs into chocolate. The chef made musical notes on the chocolate bar and it was a moment of “Wow!” (Picture below). Then we took a tour of the museum at our own pace to end the visit.

The chocolate bars the chef made to show us how to make various kinds of designs. The best one is the representation of musical notes on the far right.

Chocolate, as I learned from Socci et al.’s literary review, has been known to already enhance cognitive abilities and cocoa flavonoids- present in all cocoa products produce a neuroprotective effect. The main sub-class of flavanoids that are known to reduce the rate of age-related cognitive decline are flavanols. These flavanols and to an extent all cocoa-driven products are known to sustain cognitive abilities such as executive functions, attention, and memory. Ongoing studies are also showing the ability of dose-dependent cocoa products to provide for better working memory and fluid intelligence. Further, recent studies and their conclusions are describing chocolate and cocoa products to be neutraceutical. A neutraceutical is a substance present in a food or group of foods generally that has health and cognitive benefits that could include treatment or prevention of disease. 

With this information regarding the chocolate and its nootropic effects on my cognitive abilities, I am glad I did not stop eating chocolate at a young age after my mom told me to because “it would rot my teeth”. Overall making my own chocolate goods and bars and eating them as dessert every day has been the highlight of my experience so far!

A picture of me exploring the various galleries of the museum that describe and explain the history of chocolate.

References:

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2017.00019/full

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/nutraceutical#:~:text=A%20nutraceutical%20is%20defined%20as,Nutritional%20Aspects%20of%20Buckwheat%2C%202016

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Can’t Get Enough of Chocolate

This week, our class took a trip to the Musee de Chocolat (Chocolate Museum). It did not take me long, however, to realize that our trip to Musee de Chocolat was not going to be any ordinary museum visit. Upon entering the building, we were greeted by one of the head chocolatiers. He was wearing a thick, white coat that ran to just above his ankles, and his white shoes, well, let’s just say they had seen better days. He instructed us to wash our hands, and, as the cold water trickled down my fingers… I had my EUREKA moment. We had not come here to simply learn about the history of chocolate. We were actually going to be making it! 

            On the way downstairs, I was absolutely floored by the French architecture that the chocolatiers had brought to life with chocolate. I was most impressed by the Chocolate Eiffel Tower. It stood roughly 6 feet tall and its silky coat of brown was glistening in the light that shined from above. I asked the head chocolatier how much time it had taken to construct, and he promptly responded to me with “3 months”. Safe to say, that was just the beginning of an hour full of surprises. 

Figure 1. Rachel and I in front of the Chocolate Eiffel Tower.

 

 

 

 

 

Once inside the chocolate making room, we were instructed to put on our aprons and choose a table mat to work on. Next to me were three massive, chocolate churning machines that were dripping milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate. Our instructor conducted a few demos on how to use the chocolate to decorate our marshmallows, orange peels, and fudge blocks. He made it look incredibly easy. We strengthened our chocolate decorating skills for roughly 45 minutes then headed back upstairs to learn about the history of chocolate making and its roots stemming from Mexico. 

Through this museum and my personal research, I have learned much about chocolate. In particular, I found it fascinating how brain studies have shown that dark chocolate is associated with increased verbal memory performance for two hours post consumption (Lamport et al., 2020). This is most likely due to the effects of dark chocolate having increased flavanol-rich cocoa which increases cerebral blood flow during the first 2-4 hours after first intake (Sorond et al., 2008). I was able to gather so much information from this trip with the added bonus of strengthening my chocolate making skills. Even better, I found a reason to continue indulging in this creamy treat, within reason, of course! 

Figure 2. My poor attempt at making chocolate bars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

Lamport, Daniel J., et al. “Beneficial Effects of Dark Chocolate for Episodic Memory in Healthy Young Adults: A Parallel-Groups Acute Intervention with a White Chocolate Control.” Nutrients, vol. 12, no. 2, Feb. 2020, p. 483. PubMed Central, https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12020483.

Sorond, Farzaneh A., et al. “Cerebral Blood Flow Response to Flavanol-Rich Cocoa in Healthy Elderly Humans.” Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, vol. 4, no. 2, Apr. 2008, pp. 433–40. PubMed Central, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2518374/.

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Chocolate, Chocolate, Read All About It!

The other day, our class visited a chocolate museum/ factory called Le muse gourmand du chocolat in the 10tharrondissement. The museum was in a very hip and up-and-coming neighborhood with lots of great restaurant options and young people. Upon entering the museum, the smell of chocolate flooded my senses and instantly made my mouth water. I couldn’t wait to make my own chocolate!

On our way down to the basement where the pastry chef was waiting for us, we saw beautiful and intricate sculptures made of chocolate, including the Eiffel Tower! I was very impressed and couldn’t wait to try out my hand at chocolate making and decorating. In the room, there was a large table with marshmallows, orange peels, and chocolate blocks for us to cover in chocolate and decorate. The pastry chef provided us with milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate — I liked the milk chocolate best! I enjoyed adding hazelnuts and coconut flakes to the chocolate dipped marshmallows. It was my first-time trying chocolate covered orange peels, as well, and I discovered that those are not my favorite.

We also made our own chocolate bars. The pastry chef taught us how to add designs to the chocolate bar by combining the different types of chocolate. My favorite design was the “latte art flower”. This was done by covering the mould in a singular type of chocolate, such as milk chocolate, and then a horizontal strip of a different type of chocolate was added to the middle of the mould. A toothpick was used to create an up and down swirl pattern, and once I got to the end, I dragged a straight line in the middle back to the beginning of the bar. The result can be seen in the picture below!

My chocolate bar creations. You can see the fun “latte art” designs in three of the bars.

Not only was this a very fun experience, but I was also able to understand the cognitive and mood enhancing effects of chocolate firsthand! Many studies have been performed to look at the cognitive effects of chocolate, and when researching the topic, I came across an interesting study that used Steady State Probe Topography (SST), a technique I have not learned a lot about. This technique was used to evaluate neurocognitive changes in response to cocoa flavanols during a spatial working memory task. SST is associated with activity cortico-cortico and thalamo-cortical loops of the brain. The study found that there was a correlation between increased neural efficiency and the cocoa flavanol consumption in the spatial working memory task (Camfield et al., 2012).

I am excited and ready to continue the chocolate decorating process! Yum!

Reference:

Camfield, D. A., Scholey, A., Pipingas, A., Silberstein, R., Kras, M., Nolidin, K., Wesnes, K., Pase, M., & Stough, C. (2012). Steady state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) topography changes associated with cocoa flavanol consumption. Physiology & behavior, 105(4), 948–957. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.11.013

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Big Brain Energy at the Eiffel Tower

Cynthia Martucci

This past Wednesday, a few of us visited the Eiffel Tower for a picnic on the grass. It was a lovely evening filled with friends, food (i.e. cheese, wine, and baguettes in typical French fashion), and laughs, set underneath the iconic setting of the Eiffel Tower. We definitely were not the only ones enjoying the scenery, as the park was packed with couples, family, and friends soaking up the sun on this fine summer night.

 

Figure 1: Rachel, Sam, Lauren, and I in front of the Eiffel Tower during our picnic.

Constructed for the 1889 Worlds Fair, the wrought-iron lattice structure has become an emblem of the city and is recognized worldwide. The tower is actually the most visited monument with an entrance fee in the world! When Gustave Eiffel designed the tower, he decided to engrave the names of 72 French scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. I had never realized this scientific connection on my visits to Paris before, and began to wonder whether there were any links to neuroscience. It requires a closer look at the arch, but they are there! One such name I found is Marie François Xavier Bichat. His name appears on the first floor of the tower, 14th on the west facing side.

Figure 2: Portrait of Marie-François-Xavier Bichat.
(source: https://www.wonders-of-the-world.net/Eiffel-Tower/Pantheon/Marie-Francois-Xavier-Bichat.php)

Xavier Bichat lived from 1771 to 1802, and trained in medicine in Lyon before moving to Paris. He was interested in investigating the pathology of diseases, and in 1799 he left his career as a surgeon to devote his time to experimental physiology, dissection, and autopsies to understand pathological anatomy. He is quoted to have slept in the morgue some nights in order to continue with as many dissections as possible. One of his greatest contributions was identifying and introducing 21 types of tissues as the basic elements of organs. Of even greater interest to us as neuroscience students is this pioneer’s understanding of the brain and nervous system. In his doctrine of life, he claims that the center of the animal life was the brain, and that of the organic life was the heart. For him, “life rests upon a tripod made of respiration, circulation, and nervation” (Haller 1981). He did, though, acknowledge that there is a dependent relationship between the heart and brain, in that the heart provides blood flow to stimulate cerebral tissue. In addition, he identified the importance of the ganglionic nervous system, and described it as a network of tiny, independent brains within the chest cavity. Overall, it is clear that Xavier Bichat deserves to have his name permanently inscribed on the Eiffel Tower and visible to the millions of visitors every year.

Figure 3: A fun throwback from a previous trip I had taken to Paris.

Reference:

Clarac, F., Barbara, J. G., Broussolle, E., & Poirier, J. (2012). Figures and institutions of the neurological sciences in Paris from 1800 to 1950. Introduction and Part I: Neuroanatomy. Revue neurologique, 168(1), 2-14.

Haller, J.S., 1981. American Medicine in Transition, 1840–1910. University of Illinois Press, Chicago, p. 13.

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A trip to the Arc de Triomphe (Photo Post)

On May 21st, Rachel, Sam, and I visited the Arc de Triomphe, accompanied by my dad who was in town for a business trip. The monument was built after the famous battle of Austerlitz in 1805, which Napoléon considered his military masterpiece. The monument aimed to commemorate the victories of the French army. Despite starting construction in 1806, the monument was finished in 1836 (Emory’s founding year!), taking a total of 30 years to complete. 

A photo of me, Sam, and my dad in front of the Arc de Triomphe

This relates to our class content because in neuroethics we discussed the ethical use of brain-to-brain interfaces. One example that stood out to me was the use of this technology during wartime. While I originally thought this would be the most ethical solution, my peers brought up the issue of hacking and worsening the deindividualization experienced by soldiers.

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Chocolate on Mind & Mood

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve loved chocolate. The evidence of this is immortalized in my house’s hallways where there is more than one framed photo of me with chocolate frosting or ice-cream smeared all over my face. So, when I heard that one of our excursions on this program was a chocolate-making workshop, I knew that it was my time to shine. 

On our trip to the chocolate museum, we had the opportunity to create and decorate multiple kinds of candies and chocolate bars to get a hands-on experience before exploring the museum full of chocolate facts. Though my work might not have been the prettiest in the room, I had fun exploring and trying new techniques in the process. In fact, I felt like six-year-old me all over again by the end of the workshop, with melted chocolate on my hands, face, and all over my apron.

Me and a friend at the chocolate making workshop

Later in the museum, though, my friends and I found an interactive exhibit that explained chocolate’s effects on the body. The information detailed the effects of chocolate on the skin, bones, digestive system, mood, and multiple other bodily systems. Naturally, as a product of the fact that I’ve been thinking a lot about neuroscience lately, this made me wonder about the effects of chocolate on the brain. I had read literature regarding chocolate’s effect on mood and cognition but was curious as to whether or not it could have a more direct physical effect on brain structure and function. 

One paper I found explored the relationship between methylxanthines found specifically in chocolate, such as caffeine and theobromines, on neuronal plasticity. This study did acknowledge that in research, animal models exposed to higher levels of methylxanthines

Chocolate-making equipment. We dipped all of the candies into white, milk, or dark chocolate and then decorated them with the supplies in the middle of the table.

can protect neurons from dysfunction and even death in the case of a stroke. This work eventually could potentially be translated to neurodegenerative disease, which is a fascinating real-world implication. This effect can also be translated to other methylxanthine-rich foods and beverages, such as tea and coffee. As someone who is an avid coffee and chocolate fan, I can’t complain about the findings of this paper. 

While we’re on the topics of chocolate, Paris, and chocolate in Paris, I figured I would leave you with an insider tip: the best hot cocoa in Paris is undoubtedly at Cafe De Flor. So, if you want to protect your neurons while also having a delicious drink break, head over to the 6th arrondissement and pick up a cup.  

References:

Camandola, S., Plick, N., & Mattson, M. P. (2019). Impact of Coffee and Cacao Purine Metabolites on Neuroplasticity and Neurodegenerative Disease. Neurochemical research, 44(1), 214–227. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-018-2492-0