Can music manipulate how food tastes?

By Stephen Beech

Music really can make meals taste better by enhancing the flavors of food, new research reveals.

Danish scientists have proved that the brain doesn't create flavor based solely on signals from the tongue.

Study first author Alberte Baggesgaard Seeberg, from the University of Copenhagen, said: "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."

Using brain scans, the research team showed that music can activate some of the same brain regions involved in processing taste.

Study senior author Janice Wang said: "This tells us that flavor is not simply a property of food.

"Flavor is an experience created by the brain."

The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, is the first time researchers have used brain imaging to show what happens in the brain when it processes taste.

It was previously known that music can alter the perception of flavor, an effect known as sonic seasoning.

But the new study links the effect to direct measurements of brain activity.

While lying in a brain scanner, the 28 participants alternated between listening to music and tasting flavor solutions made from sugar and citric acid.

The research team used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure activity in different parts of the brain by detecting changes in blood flow.

Seeberg said: "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."

While participants lay in the scanner, their brain activity was measured under different conditions.

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In some cases, they listened only to music.

In others, they tasted flavor solutions.

In some trials, music and taste were presented simultaneously.

The process enabled the researchers to compare how the brain responds to sound and taste separately and in combination.

Wang said the findings "clearly" showed that certain brain regions were more active when participants listened to music while tasting one of the two flavor solutions.

She said: "We can see that flavor is constructed by the brain and not only by the taste buds.

"What determines flavor is not limited to what happens on the tongue. It emerges through the integration of multiple senses."

The findings build on previous studies showing that music can enhance particular taste perceptions.

For example, slow pop music with harmonious tones may enhance sweetness.

But, until now, the impact has only been investigated through behavioral studies in which participants rated flavors with and without music.

The Danish team say the new findings could be used to design better eating experiences in various settings, including restaurants, cafeterias and hospitals.

Seeberg said: "For people who are at risk of malnutrition, something as simple as music could potentially improve the eating experience.

"There is a great deal we can do, often at very little cost, to improve quality of life for some people."

Wang said many years of research into flavor and sensory perception has finally revealed biological evidence of how the senses interact.

She added: "We now have a new way of influencing flavor perception, creating a better meal experience and potentially a better overall experience, without necessarily changing the food itself."