Researchers have developed the world’s first VR game that uses scent to train memory, offering a powerful, engaging tool to fight cognitive decline and support aging brains.
Key Points at a Glance
- First-ever VR game to integrate scent cues for cognitive training in older adults
- Olfactory stimulation activates memory and emotion-related brain areas
- Participants showed measurable improvements in memory and spatial cognition
- The training involves immersive scent navigation and recognition tasks
- Technology could help delay or prevent age-related cognitive decline
Cognitive decline is one of the most pressing global health challenges facing our aging populations. But now, a pioneering team of researchers may have found a way to turn immersive technology and the power of smell into a therapeutic tool. In a newly published study, scientists unveiled the first virtual reality (VR) game designed to use scent to boost memory and spatial thinking in older adults—a promising step toward mitigating the effects of aging on the brain.
The VR game, developed by a collaboration between Science Tokyo, University of the Arts London, Bunkyo Gakuin University, and Hosei University, uses an olfactory display to release specific scents during gameplay. These scents are carefully paired with visual and interactive cues within a virtual landscape to stimulate the brain’s memory and emotion-related areas. The goal? To help older adults retain cognitive function and reduce their risk of neurodegenerative conditions like dementia.
“VR provides a promising platform to simulate sensory conditions in a controlled yet engaging manner,” said Professor Takamichi Nakamoto from Science Tokyo. “By combining goal-oriented tasks with real-time feedback, our VR-based olfactory training approach can increase cognitive engagement and maximize its therapeutic impact.”
Sunami et al. (2025) | Scientific Reports | 10.1038/s41598-025-94693-9
The training begins in a virtual landscape where participants, aged 63 to 90, interact with a scent source—a stone statue that emits a unique scent accompanied by a white vapor. This “scent imprint” phase links odor with visual memory. In the next phase, participants navigate the virtual environment using VR controllers. As they move, faint trails of the scent are emitted to guide them toward a target location, represented by a stone lantern.
There, three vapor clouds—each with a different scent—await. Participants must identify which matches the original scent, engaging their olfactory memory and discrimination skills. The activity is structured to combine scent recall, spatial navigation, and cognitive challenge, strengthening memory pathways through multisensory integration.
The results are compelling. After just 20 minutes of play, the 30 older participants showed measurable improvements in visuospatial skills and memory. On the Hiragana Rotation Task—where they judged rotated Japanese characters—scores improved from 19–82 to 29–85. In a spatial word-memory test, where participants recalled word placements in a grid, scores rose from 0–15 to 3–15.
These statistically validated improvements suggest that olfactory-enriched VR may be more than just engaging—it could be therapeutic. The sense of smell has a direct route to the hippocampus, the brain region central to memory and learning. By exploiting this link, the game helps activate mental faculties that often decline with age.
Looking ahead, the researchers hope to refine the technology to make it more widely accessible, either through more affordable olfactory displays or alternative scent delivery systems. Their vision is a future where older adults can maintain their cognitive vitality through enjoyable, game-based therapies that blend technology with neuroscience.
This approach could redefine how we support aging populations—offering not just treatment, but empowerment through play, scent, and the immersive world of virtual reality.
Source: Institute of Science Tokyo
