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05 07 2006 Teacher Science

1. Research shows that our expectations can affect how we experience tastes, as a study found people could be tricked into believing a bitter beverage tastes better than it is by manipulating their expectations. 2. The study had subjects rate tastes under a brain scanner, and found that when misled to think a bitter taste would be pleasant, subjects rated it higher and their brain's primary taste cortex registered less bitterness. 3. This demonstrates taste is subjective and depends on context, as the brain's response can be changed by expectations alone, even though subjects were unaware of being misled.

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50 views3 pages

05 07 2006 Teacher Science

1. Research shows that our expectations can affect how we experience tastes, as a study found people could be tricked into believing a bitter beverage tastes better than it is by manipulating their expectations. 2. The study had subjects rate tastes under a brain scanner, and found that when misled to think a bitter taste would be pleasant, subjects rated it higher and their brain's primary taste cortex registered less bitterness. 3. This demonstrates taste is subjective and depends on context, as the brain's response can be changed by expectations alone, even though subjects were unaware of being misled.

Uploaded by

David Yap
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Tricking our Taste Buds

Research shows that our expectations can affect the taste of what we eat.
Not a fan of Brussel sprouts? New research shows that our expectations may be able to change
the way food tastes to us.
We often speak of unpopular foods like Brussel sprouts or chopped liver as being acquired tastes. Now,
brain research from the University of Wisconsin shows just how subjective our tastes really are. he
study, published in the !arch "##$ issue of Nature Neuroscience, found that people could not only be
duped into believing a bitter beverage tastes better than it actually does, but that the trick decreases the
activity in the %taste% region of the brain. he findings also show that this taste region may be larger than
previously thought.
&n past research, brain scans performed on 'ld World monkeys showed that the taste region of their
brain, called the primary taste corte(, always gave the same response to a specific taste, regardless of
how hungry the monkeys were when they tasted it. his suggested that the primary taste corte( codes
for the objective qualities of taste. But many human e(periments)like clinical trials where patients felt
less pain after taking a placebo)confirmed that in other senses, our e(pectations could change our
perceptions.
Neuroscientist *ack Nitschke and his colleagues wanted to find out if our sense of taste could be
similarly manipulated. he researchers placed college students under a brain scanner, and measured
brain activity as the subjects rated five different tastes+ very bitter, bitter, neutral, pleasant, and very
pleasant. he bitter tastes were made from quinine)the chemical that gives tonic water its bite)while the
pleasant tastes were different concentrations of sugar water.
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,ach trial began with a visual cue)a plus sign, for instance, before the very pleasant taste)so that the
subjects knew what taste to e(pect. But on some trials, the researchers played a game of switcheroo,
showing the %bitter% cue before doling out a %very bitter% sample. he trick worked+ when subjects were
misled to believe the sample would taste better, they rated it higher. !oreover, the subjects didn-t reali.e
they had been fooled. %We asked them afterwards,% Nitschke says, %and not a single one knew.%
he brain scan results told the same story. Normally, the more bitter a taste, the larger the response in
the primary taste corte(. &ndeed, when subjects were given a %very bitter% cue followed by a %very bitter%
taste, their brains were highly activated. But when the subjects were given the same %very bitter% taste
with a cue that made them think it would taste better, the primary taste corte( gave a much lower
response. /s Nitschke e(plains, %their brains just didn-t register how awful that taste was.%
hese results show that taste is a subjective e(perience that depends on conte(t. /nd though this
%suggestibility effect% has been studied a great deal in other senses like vision, sound, and pain,
Nitschke-s study is the first to find it in taste.
his work has also brought into question the si.e of the brain-s taste region. &n previous work on 'ld
World monkeys, the primary taste corte( was confined to a very small area deep within the brain. %0o we
Credit: Greg Dixon
The primary taste cortex area of the
brain can be tricked depending on
expectations of what something will
taste like.
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were really surprised,% Nitschke says, %because what we saw here was this huge area of activation%.
his shows that the primary taste corte( in humans is larger and more e(tensive than it is in monkeys.
Neuroscientist 1ana 0mall of 2ale University says the study is solid and interesting, and demonstrates
the power of belief over sensory e(perience. But 0mall says parents have long known about the
phenomena. %!y mother used to try to get me to eat peas by calling them pea candies,% she recalls,
%and it worked ) at least for awhile.%
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