A cross-sectional study of olfactory stimulation on retrieval of the Who, Where and When information in Alzheimer’s disease

We investigated whether olfactory stimulation can enhance the retrieval of contextual details-"who/where/when"-during autobiographical memory recall in patients with Alzheimer's-disease (AD). Previous research has shown that odors can trigger vivid autobiographical memories in healthy-adults, but evidence in AD is limited, and most studies have focused on general memory recall rather than specific contextual information. Given that a key feature of autobiographical decline in AD is difficulty retrieving contextual details, it remains unclear whether olfactory cues can selectively improve recall of "who," "where," and "when" information. In this cross-sectional study, 33 patients with AD and 35 healthy controls retrieved autobiographical events with and without odor exposure. Analyses revealed that odor exposure increased the number of "who," "where," and "when" details in both groups. These findings address a critical gap in the literature, demonstrating that olfactory stimulation can specifically support contextual memory retrieval in AD, offering a non-invasive-tool to mitigate autobiographical memory deficits.