Perception of Flavor Quality: Multisensory and Cognitive Processes

Information

  • Research Project
  • 9015344
  • ApplicationId
    9015344
  • Core Project Number
    R01DC011823
  • Full Project Number
    4R01DC011823-05
  • Serial Number
    011823
  • FOA Number
    PA-10-201
  • Sub Project Id
  • Project Start Date
    3/1/2012 - 12 years ago
  • Project End Date
    2/28/2018 - 6 years ago
  • Program Officer Name
    SULLIVAN, SUSAN L.
  • Budget Start Date
    3/1/2016 - 8 years ago
  • Budget End Date
    2/28/2018 - 6 years ago
  • Fiscal Year
    2016
  • Support Year
    05
  • Suffix
  • Award Notice Date
    2/24/2016 - 8 years ago

Perception of Flavor Quality: Multisensory and Cognitive Processes

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): When foods or beverages are taken in the mouth, the resulting flavor perceptions emerge from sensory signals activated by stimulation of several senses: taste (gustation), olfaction (retronasally, as air-borne particles reach olfactory receptor through the back of the mouth), somatosensation (texture, warmth, cold, pungency), and even vision (color) and hearing (sounds of mastication). Flavor perception therefore involves multisensory interactions and integration. At the same time, flavor perceptions are also strongly influenced by the context of the food stimuli and by people's knowledge and expectations, that is, by higher-level, cognitive processes. Little is known, however, about the interaction between sensory and cognitive processes in flavor perception. It is critical to distinguish interactions taking place at different levels of flavor processing. Capitalizing on state-of- the-art psychophysical (behavioral) methods in humans, the present project tests three main hypotheses about the interactions between sensory and cognitive processing in the perception of flavor mixtures: (1) The first series of experiments (Studies 1-3) tests the hypothesis that flavor-stimulus context modifies the identification of flavor mixtures and the perceived intensitie of the components of the flavors through an adaptation-like mechanism, consistent with the hypothesis that the identification of these mixtures rests largely on the relative perceived intensities of the components. (2) The second series of experiments (Studies 4-6) tests the hypothesis that linguistic context (labels given to the stimuli before presentation) affects the identification of flavor mixtures through the operation of a general-purpose cognitive mechanism for integrating information, but has no corresponding effect on perceived flavor intensity. (3) The third series of experiments (Studies 7 and 8) tests the hypothesis that although the contrastive (adaptation-like) effects of flavor-stimulus context and the assimilative effects of linguistic context, examined in Studies 1-6, can impair accurate identification of the flavor mixtures, trial-by-trial feedback can benefit subsequent performance by providing information about the statistical properties of the stimulus distributions and about the associations of labels with flavors. Feedback may allow identification performance to improve to near optimal levels, as defined by Bayesian statistics. Besides advancing our understanding of sensory-cognitive mechanisms of flavor perception, the findings of this project bear implications for food selection and food intake. The flavors of foods and beverages are important determinants of food intake, and hence important in the regulation of nutrition and body weight. Understanding the interactions of sensory and cognitive processes in the identification of flavor components of foods and beverages, and understanding the role of feedback in aiding accurate identification, could prove valuable to developing better treatments of disorders involving swallowing, eating, nutrition, and body weight.

IC Name
NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
  • Activity
    R01
  • Administering IC
    DC
  • Application Type
    4
  • Direct Cost Amount
    191250
  • Indirect Cost Amount
    147836
  • Total Cost
    339086
  • Sub Project Total Cost
  • ARRA Funded
    False
  • CFDA Code
    173
  • Ed Inst. Type
  • Funding ICs
    NIDCD:339086\
  • Funding Mechanism
    Non-SBIR/STTR RPGs
  • Study Section
    SCS
  • Study Section Name
    Somatosensory and Chemosensory Systems Study Section
  • Organization Name
    JOHN B. PIERCE LABORATORY, INC.
  • Organization Department
  • Organization DUNS
    010139210
  • Organization City
    NEW HAVEN
  • Organization State
    CT
  • Organization Country
    UNITED STATES
  • Organization Zip Code
    065191403
  • Organization District
    UNITED STATES