Abstract: Out of all senses, olfaction is particularly linked with human emotion. The kinship is rooted in the evolutionary process, which possibly shaped the highly overlapped anatomical compositions between the two systems. Anecdotal descriptions aside, recent empirical studies have examined the interplays between olfaction and emotion either with or without subjective awareness, as well as the underlying mechanisms. These efforts have outlined the behavioral affinity between olfaction and emotion as well as their shared neural encoding scheme involving structures like the amygdala, hippocampus, insular and orbitofrontal cortex. The findings also highlight the distinct roles of non-social odorants and social chemosignals in modulating emotional processes.

Key words: olfaction, emotion, limbic system