Why do the French see MEMORY differently? (hint: it’s more art than science)

Have you ever had a far-off memory triggered by a taste of something? A whiff of a scent? A reminiscence brought back from a remote corner of your mind, almost forgotten? Congratulations: you had what is called in French “une madeleine de Proust“. Cognitive psychologists call it “the Proust phenomenon“. That’s because Marcel Proust -- that famous French writer -- gave the most resounding account of this, of involuntary memory. He recounted in the first volume of his (gigantic) novel “A La Recherche du Temps Perdu“ (In Search of Lost Time) about how, when his mother brought him a madeleine and tea, he was propelled back into the past when his aunt used to do the same when she cared for him while he was ill in bed. It was a powerful moment for him. On a technical level, it’s all about how the brain’s hippocampus -- responsible for short- and long-term memory -- is especially keyed into our senses, particularly taste and smell.