Abstract
This article aims to study taste from a biopsychological point of view. The collected information resources were analyzed to achieve this goal, and conclusions were drawn. As a result of the analysis, it was found that the perception of taste is possible due to the interaction of physiological and psychological aspects.
It was found that such factors as a person’s psychological state, prejudices, previous experience, and associations significantly impact the perception of chemicals by receptors. Individual peculiarities of taste perception about age have also been identified. The study’s conclusions emphasize the complexity of the interaction of psychological and physiological factors and the importance of understanding these processes for forming healthy eating behavior.
Introduction
All sensory centers of a person are important and contribute to his perception of the world, and taste is no exception. The relationship between taste receptors and the brain ensures taste preferences and eating behavior. In addition, there is a mutual influence of disease and taste: some drugs can hurt the ability to perceive taste. At the same time, taste and its relationship with metabolism impact the development of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension (Perszyk et al., 2019). The essay examines the taste system’s structural and functional features and its relationship with the psychological mechanisms of perception.
Physiological Underpinnings
One of the main physiological features of the body that allows to taste is the presence of a tongue with receptors. It not only allows us to enjoy one’s favorite dishes but also, together with the sense of smell, allows us to assess the danger of spoiled or poisoned products and takes care of our health (“Sensing and Perceiving,” n.d.). Six different sensations, such as sweet, salty, sour, bitter, spicy, and umami, are located both on the tongue’s surface, the mouth’s walls, and the back of the throat (“Sensing and Perceiving,” n.d.). Information about the taste, temperature, and texture of food in the mouth comes from the nucleus of the solitary tract through the gustatory thalamus and to the taste insula (Rolls, 2019). When perceiving a food object, the brain combines visual, gustatory, and olfactory representations to form an overall picture of the value of food for the body.
Structure
The caste system consists of the tongue, its structural features, the walls of the mouth and throat, neurons, and the brain. The tongue has taste buds that can detect flavor quickly when exposed to chemicals from food. The receptor buds do not last forever and are renewed at specific intervals. Still, this ability to renew becomes blunted with age, which is why older people taste less colorful and vivid. Their number on the human tongue ranges from two to ten thousand, and each has fifty to one hundred taste buds (“Sensing and Perceiving,” n.d.). They then transmit the impulse of taste to the brain via neural connections. The area of the sensory cortex in the brain is located so that taste and smell are interconnected.
Function
The primary function of the taste system is to perceive taste and transmit impulses with taste information to the brain. Thanks to this function, other derived functions are also possible. For example, people can enjoy food or distinguish between nutritious and poisonous foods (Olofsson & Freiherr, 2019).
In addition, appetite and eating behavior are shaped by the functions of the taste system. The interconnectedness of the nervous and hormonal systems creates a feeling of satiety or hunger that helps regulate the amount of food consumed (Rolls, 2019). Sometimes, the function of taste is to form memories or associations with specific events in the past. The taste system plays a vital role in the body’s functioning through sensations about the nutritional value or poisonousness of food, the formation of eating behavior, and emotional reactions to food.
Psychological Underpinnings
Psychological foundations are essential in shaping one’s food preferences and eating behavior. The interaction between psychological processes and brain activity determines eating habits and attitudes toward certain foods. For example, eating sucrose, which provides people with nutrition and energy, is accompanied by positive facial expressions, while eating quinine, which has a bitter taste, is accompanied by adverse affective reactions (Olofsson & Freiherr, 2019).
In addition, certain flavors can remind us of our childhood or other significant life events, leading to a positive perception of food. The socio-cultural context, which shapes traditions, customs, and preferences, also affects the evaluation of taste impressions. Therefore, taste perception is not objective and is formed by various psychological factors.
Cognitive-Perceptual
Cognitive and perceptual aspects of taste are the processes associated with the perception of taste by a particular person. The perception of taste is not just the decoding of chemical signals but the perception of these signals, considering previous experience. Expectations can influence the outcome of taste perception: when a person expects salty food and eats sweet food, it can cause an emotional reaction and confusion in sensory receptors (Olofsson & Freiherr, 2019).
In addition, some flavors can have positive or adverse reactions. They affect our appetite and desire to eat or feel disgusted. A well-decorated table and dishes help to stimulate appetite, and the brain rarely perceives dishes with an unpleasant odor as tasty. The temperature of the food is also essential; for example, hot tea may seem unsweetened if it contains sugar. Cold food is perceived as not delicious, so people heat it to a comfortable temperature. Thus, taste perception is subjective and related to such cognitive aspects as previous experience, preferences, and individual expectations.
Conclusions
Consequently, the taste perception system is essential for every person and is formed by many factors. Taste helps to survive by assessing danger or providing nutrition information. In addition, taste provides the ability to enjoy eating. Instead, it is formed not only by physiological and psychological factors but also by the multifaceted nature of taste: context, previous experience, expectations, socio-cultural preferences, and more influence. In addition, physiological properties are arranged so that the sense of taste is influenced by the ability to smell and the age-related characteristics of the body. From a biopsychological perspective, taste looks like a set of accompanying influential factors that form a general subjective idea of the quality features of food.
References
Olofsson, J., & Freiherr, J. (2019). Neuroimaging of smell and taste. In L. Doty (Ed.), Handbook of Clinical Neurology(Vol. 164, pp. 263–282). Web.
Perszyk, E. E., Stewart, B., & Roland, H. R. (2019). Psychological perspectives on taste. In Dana S. Dunn(Ed.), Psychology. Oxford University Press. Web.
Rolls, E. T. (2019). Taste and smell processing in the brain. In L. Doty (Ed.), Handbook of Clinical Neurology (pp. 97–118). Web.
Sensing and Perceiving. (n.d.). In Introduction to Psychology. Saylor. Web.
