Sometimes I Smell Perfume Before It Happens

Sometimes I smell perfume before it happens

Apart from receiving an emotional aura before a seizure, at times I experience an olfactory aura which is a type of sensory aura experienced by some individuals with epilepsy. It involves the perception of smells that are not actually present in the environment. These smells can be unpleasant, such as burning or chemical odours, or they may be neutral or even pleasant, depending on the individual. The olfactory aura typically occurs just before a seizure, serving as a premonitory sign that a seizure is imminent. The olfactory system, responsible for detecting and processing smells, is closely linked to the temporal lobe of the brain. The temporal lobe houses the olfactory cortex, which plays a crucial role in the perception of odours. In individuals with epilepsy, abnormal electrical activity in this region or its connections can lead to the sensation of phantom smells. The experience of an olfactory aura is generally associated with seizures that originate from the temporal lobe, particularly those involving the temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). In TLE, the neural circuits responsible for processing olfactory information can become hyperexcitable, leading to the erroneous perception of smells.