Taste and Factors Affecting or Affected by Taste

This paper discusses the topic of taste and more specifically on the factors that influence taste or are influenced by taste. Although it may not be apparent as to how taste is linked to psychology, it is key to realize that our ability to taste carries the aspects of evolutionary psychology, psychophysics, and behaviorism. Taste is one of our many senses that sends messages to the brain, which in turn allows the brain to interpret these messages and perceives the outside world. The development of taste can occur through the personal experiences we had with food and is also developed through classical conditioning, as seen in an experiment conducted by John Garcia. However there is more to taste development, with there being a biological basis for the way we interpret substances. In Linda Bartoshuk’s study, she found that that there were three types of tasters, each having their own set of reactions to certain foods. These reactions or lack of reaction could potentially lead to health risks related taste sensitivity and taste acuity, such as anorexia nervosa and obesity. Despite the fact that it is mentioned that taste sensitivity and acuity can lead to obesity or anorexia nervosa, it is also important to note that the results of the research mentioned were mixed and that not enough research has been done to prove these statements to be true. Since there is not much evidence proving these claims, there is also lack of knowledge as to what can be done in terms of taste to prevent or alleviate these disorders. Therefore, this paper will not be reviewing that aspect.

Thomas Breslin (2013) describes the sense of taste as stimulation, “when nutrients or other chemical compounds activate specialized receptor cells within the oral cavity” (p.1). Overtime, taste has been proven useful from an evolutionary perspective as it has encouraged us to distinguish high nutrient foods from low nutrient or even toxic foods. Taste, more importantly taste sensitivity, has been shown to have an effect on the human psyche and vice versa, with perceptual learning and experience influencing our taste sensitivity. Unfortunately, this also means that taste can have a negative impact on the mind as lack of taste sensitivity may attribute to common eating disorders.

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Taste and its development are shaped throughout our entire lives through personal experience and is also how we form taste acuity. Tomita and Ikeda (2002) stated that, “taste acuity allows people to distinguish between different flavors and determine their taste preferences and aversions (as cited in Conderman, 2013). This development was demonstrated by American psychologist, John Garcia, when he witnessed that rats developed a conditioned dislike and avoidance of food after the food caused them to feel ill. Experience was also shown to affect taste in a study that partnered up with a rock band to discern how music can affect the taste of beer. In this experiment, 231 participants rated how good they expected the drink to be. Afterwards, the participants were divided into 3 groups, one who drank an unlabeled beer in a silent room, one where they drank an unlabeled beer in a room filled with the band’s music, and one where they drank a labeled beer in room filled with the band’s music. Those who drank the beer in a music-filled room, gave its score a higher rating, and Schreiber (2016) noted that, “the added pleasure the song brought into the experience was transferred into the beer's flavor” (p.7). As we now understand that taste preferences and aversions can be conditioned, let’s address how biological factors can influence our taste and eating behaviors.

A study by Melis and Barbarossa (2017) emphasizes that there is an evolutionary reason as to why we are able to detect the six sensory qualities, sweet, sour, umami, salty, bitter, and fatty acids within our foods. So why are we able to detect these flavors? The answer is nutrition. According to Melis and Barbarossa (2017), “The ability to distinguish noxious substances from nutrient-rich food sources is essential for survival” (p.1). As early humans switched their diets from fruits and vegetables to a plethora of other foods, their sense of taste also became diversified. Melis’ and Barbarossa’s (2017) study found that salty, umami, and sweet foods were only pleasant and tolerable at lower doses, but intolerable at high, whereas bitter and sour foods were described as innate aversions.

Although plenty of our everyday taste preferences and aversions differ from one another as they are typically acquired through the process of conditioning, most of humankind do happen to share innate aversions due to the trials of our ancestors. For example, if someone were to go around College of Alameda and gave students the option to either eat an entire apple or eat an entire lemon, what do you expect the majority to choose? Of course, many would choose to consume the apple due to its mildly sweet quality, rather than the lemon, which has a concentrated sour and bitter quality. The reasoning is due to the fact that psychologically, our minds associate substances with sour and/or bitter qualities with substances that are high in acid or toxicities. Although we as humans are dispositioned to avert from or indulge in particular substances, the reality is that in a world with over seven billion people containing varying genetic differences in taste receptors, we are also dispositioned to have differing taste sensitivity from one another.

There are three types of ‘tasters’: non-tasters, average tasters, and supertasters (Melis & Barbarossa, 2017). To put it simply, supertasters were thought to be able to taste flavors more strongly than average tasters, average tasters could still taste bitter flavors but just did not have strong reactions to them, whereas non-tasters were unable to taste certain flavors in comparison to supertasters or average tasters. In order to identify if someone were an average taster, it was common to conduct an experiment where researchers would put blue dye on a subject’s tongue and then place a sheet of paper with a small hole onto the person’s tongue. If the researcher could count 35 or more papillae (commonly known as taste buds), then the subject would be categorized as a supertaster (Albers, 2010). The truth is, this method is not the most effective in identifying supertasters and/or non-tasters because this phenomenon is not as black and white as formerly believed. So, in the question of who is a supertaster or non-taster, the answer resides in our receptors. In an interview conducted by the Association for Psychological Science (2012), Linda Bartoshuk writes to her audience that “salt and sugar stimulate receptors in the mouth that signal the brain; fats and proteins are broken into their constituents in the stomach and those constituents, fatty acids and glutamate (coming from one of the amino acids that make up proteins), signal the brain” (p.7). She then goes to explain that this process increases the palatability of the food, which is why people become addicted to junk food since these foods mainly contain carbs, salt, and sugar. In the 1980s, Linda Bartoshuk, led a research group that granted more insight into the topic of tasters. During the research, Bartoshuk utilized a compound called phenylthiocarbamide, also known as PTC. Bartoshuk discovered that depending on the genetic makeup of her subjects, some identified the compound as being tasteless while others found that it had an incredibly bitter taste. Those who found the compound virtually tasteless were then categorized as non-tasters while the others who had an intense reaction to its bitter taste were categorized as supertasters. Yet again, experimental results concluded that the idea of non-taster and supertaster isn’t so black and white. A non-taster for that one compound could be a supertaster for everything else, it just means they don’t have receptors for that one compound (Bartoshul, 2010).

Unfortunately, showing too much of an adverse reaction or lack of an adverse reaction can prove to be detrimental. Despite the fact that supertasters are able to get more pleasure out of certain foods, these tasters have a high chance of contracting colon cancer (Albers, 2010). Albers (2010) clarifies that “this is mainly because they are very sensitive to bitter foods, which may make them avoid certain good-for-you vegetables that are bitter in taste like broccoli” (p.3). Another instance of this is that most supertasters tend to avoid vegetables high in calcium due to its overly bitter/sour taste, meanwhile non-tasters may not sense its bitterness. This means that supertasters may lack calcium, which is a necessity, when it comes to action potentials as they play a role in signal conduction pathways and can control cell excitability, neurotransmitter release, etc. (Gerad, Borst, & Helmchen, 1998). Without an efficient amount of calcium, people may also deal with hypocalcemia that can lead to neuromuscular irritability such as seizures, muscle cramps, etc., and neurological deficiencies, a process in which the body functions abnormally due to weaker function of the brain, spinal cord, muscles, and nerves (Schafer, 2016). On the other hand, non-tasters may consume too much calcium, which can lead to hypercalcemia, neuronal death, disturbed signal transduction, disturbed signal plasticity, and cell death by necrosis or apoptosis (Weber, 2012).

Another issue that arises from lack of taste sensitivity is the possibility of developing obesity. When interviewed by Duke University, Linda Bartoshuk confirmed that damage to taste does in fact have a link to weight gain. Bartoshuk (2019) states, “It turns out that when you damage taste, we now know that it releases inhibition in your brain on your ability to perceive fat. Then, what happens is that fat sensations get more intense, and, unfortunately, high-fat foods become more palatable” (p.5). Batoshuk also indicated that this effect is irreversible and that if a person has damaged taste even in early childhood, the chances of weight gain and obesity can persist into adulthood. On the other hand, lack of taste sensitivity also carries the probability of manifesting a psychological disorder known as anorexia nervosa, a condition quite opposite from its counterpart.

Taste is important in indicating whether or not food is deemed rewarding, which then manages our eating behaviors and appetite through the brain’s reward system (Rolls, 2015). Not only does taste sensitivity have an important role in anorexia nervosa, but it has also been theorized that their brain reward system could be completely altered. According to Kinnaird (2018), “While taste is usually rewarding, in individuals with AN restriction, rather than taste, becomes rewarding, and tastes are perceived as less pleasant” (p.2). In his study, Kinnaird (2018) reviewed the results of the different methods used to measure taste sensitivity, recognition, detection, and intensity in other case studies. Across the board, the results of these tests were mixed, but with the majority of the findings showing that those with anorexia nervosa had reduced taste thresholds and reduced taste recognition (Kinnaird, 2018).

In conclusion, from this assignment I learned that the way we experience taste and flavors are attributed through conditioning and biological dispositions. These biological dispositions have been crucial in our evolution, allowing us to maintain a sense of which substances are safe to eat and which substances we should avoid. In terms of taste, we are able to organize people into three different categories: supertasters, average tasters, and non-tasters. Each category has its own unique set of pros and cons, but unfortunately supertasters and non-tasters have higher risks of developing certain types of cancers, having too much or too little nutrients, and the possibility of developing psychological disorders that pertain to weight.

References

1. Albers, S. (2010, June 25). Are You a Supertaster? Mindless Eating & Your Taste Buds. Retrieved November 25, 2019, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/comfort-cravings/201006/are-you-supertaster-mindless-eating-your-taste-buds
2. Q & A With Psychological Scientist Linda Bartoshuk. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2019, from https://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/observer/obsonline/q-a-with-taste-expert-linda-bartoshuk.html
3. Schreiber, K. (2016, July 29). Music Enhances Beer's Flavor. Retrieved November 25, 2019, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-truth-about-exercise-addiction/201607/music-enhances-beers-flavor
4. Melis, M., & Barbarossa, L. T. (2017). Taste Perception of Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter, and Umami and Changes Due to l-Arginine Supplementation, as a Function of Genetic Ability to Taste 6-n-Propylthiouracil. Nutrients, 9(6), 541. doi: 10.3390/nu9060541.
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