knowing that the scent is sensory icing on the cake, so to speak. For some women, perfume can accent their appeal, adding

just another level of style to their presence. For others, it can help in establishing ? or maintaining ? a certain

reputation or appearance that society associates with her. The typical cause of a woman putting on far too much perfume,

aside from wanting to cover up some unpleasant odor about her, is that she simply doesn't realize it. This inability could

easily stem from an overall weakness, or even failure, of the olfactory systems of the body.

Regardless of the reasons for the use of perfume, there is always the possibility of creating a problem when a woman uses far

too much perfume for her own good. Initial research findings suggest that excessive use of perfume damages the olfactory

nerves, a condition that tends to cause depression. In layman's terms, her nose isn't doing what its supposed to be doing.

Recent initial research findings by scientists from Tel Aviv University suggest that there is slight evidence pointing to a

link between depression and olfactory failure. In other words, at least for some women, taking an antidepressant might help

reduce her bombarding herself with far too much of her favored scent.

According to Dr. Yehuda Shoenfeld, from Tel Aviv University, olfactory nerve failure seemed to accompany depression. They

introduced autoantibodies that were known to cause depression into mice, later discovering that their ability to smell had

been greatly reduced, with some of them having lost it altogether. Weight loss was also noted by the researchers prior to

administering antidepressant medication to the mice. Shoenfeld and his colleagues believe that depression could have the same

effect on human beings, such that women who are depressed also lose their sense of smell. In such a scenario, it is possible

that they are using too much perfume to try and compensate for this, without realizing that their noses are in error, not the

perfume.

Men using too much cologne could also be exposing themselves to a higher risk for depression. Following the same logic as

women who use too much perfume, depressed men would also lose their sense of smell and would attempt to compensate for it by

using more cologne than normal. The research team also postulated that the excessive use of cologne or perfume stems not from

the inability to realize they can no longer smell, but from the inability to enjoy scents. In the same way that depression

causes people to stop eating because they no longer enjoy the food, Shoenfeld suggested that people might use more perfume or

cologne because they can't enjoy the scent.

However, Shoenfeld admits that this can easily be considered a radical theory, though this is more because medical science

has only recently paid closer attention to the sense of smell, especially in comparison to studies conducted to ?decipher?

the senses of sight and hearing.