This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The moment we take a sip of our morning coffee or our first bite of lunch, the brain begins interpreting what we taste. Or something else entirely?
But the brain does not create flavor based solely on signals from the tongue. That is the finding of a new study from the Department of Food Science, published in Scientific Reports. "When music reaches the ears at the same time as we are eating, we can see that the brain responds more strongly than when taste is experienced without music," says first author and postdoctoral researcher Alberte Baggesgaard Seeberg from the Department of Food Science.
Using brain scans, the researchers show that music can activate some of the same brain regions involved in processing taste. "This tells us that flavor is not simply a property of food. Flavor is an experience created by the brain," says senior author and professor Janice Wang.
This is the first time researchers have used brain imaging to show what happens in the brain when it processes taste. In the study, they used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which measures activity in different parts of the brain by detecting changes in blood flow. "This allows us to move beyond simply asking people about their experiences, which has been the approach in previous studies.
With brain scans, we gain a biological window into what happens when the senses interact," says Seeberg. While participants lay in the scanner, their brain activity was measured under different conditions. In some cases, they listened only to music.
In others, they tasted flavor solutions. In some trials, music and taste were presented simultaneously. This enabled the researchers to compare how the brain responds to sound and taste separately and in combination.
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