How Stress Makes The World Stink: Anxiety, Stress Stimuli Rewire Sense Of Smell To Perceive Neutral Smells As Malodorous, Study Finds

High levels of stress makes can make the world stink ? literally. In an effort to map the human sense of smell, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered that anxiety and stress may temporarily rewire the brain by linking olfaction to emotion. As a result, neutral scents begin to take on malodorous characteristics.