HSE Researchers Discover Simple and Reliable Way to Understand How People Perceive Taste
A team of scientists from the HSE Centre for Cognition & Decision Making has studied how food flavours affect brain activity, facial muscles, and emotions. Using near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), they demonstrated that pleasant food activates brain areas associated with positive emotions, while neutral food stimulates regions linked to negative emotions and avoidance. This approach offers a simpler way to predict the market success of products and study eating disorders. The study was published in the journal Food Quality and Preference.
How do we perceive taste? Why do some foods bring pleasure, while others evoke indifference or even aversion? Science has established that this is related to the activation of specific brain regions that process our perception of taste and emotions. For instance, sweet flavours can stimulate areas associated with pleasure, while bitter flavours activate regions responsible for alertness and defence against potential danger.
To investigate these processes, scientists traditionally use complex and expensive methods. Functional MRI (fMRI) is considered the most effective, as it allows researchers to ‘look inside’ the brain and observe which parts are activated by different tastes. However, such technologies require strict conditions: participants must remain motionless, which can interfere with the perception of food.
Researchers at HSE University successfully demonstrated how fNIRS can be used to study taste perception. This method is cheaper, easier to use, and allows participants to remain in a natural position, such as sitting at a table. However, fNIRS has rarely been applied to taste research, and its capabilities remain underexplored.
During the experiment, the scientists not only tested how effectively fNIRS captures brain responses to taste but also analysed how this activity is connected to other physiological processes. The researchers measured heart rate, skin response (electrodermal activity), and recorded facial muscle movements to obtain a comprehensive picture of how we react to the taste of food.
‘We tested the response to two types of food in 36 volunteers: pleasant (fruit puree) and neutral (vegetable puree). The choice of puree was deliberate: the soft texture helped avoid data distortion that could have arisen from chewing. As expected, the vegetable puree did not evoke excitement, but it would be incorrect to call it unpleasant food. If we rank all food, it falls into either pleasant or neutral categories. Truly “unpleasant” food, in essence, does not exist,’ explained Julia Eremenko, Research Fellow at the HSE Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience and one of the study’s authors.
Using a special fNIRS setup, the researchers targeted the insular cortex, a brain region deep within the temporal lobe responsible for taste perception. While fMRI is typically required to study this area, the modified fNIRS method enabled brain activity to be analysed with simpler equipment.
The researchers achieved significant progress in studying how the brain responds to food. One of the key accomplishments was the use of a specialised setup for near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), which allowed them to focus on the insular cortex. This brain region, located deep within the temporal lobe, is responsible for taste perception. Typically, studying this area requires magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but the modified fNIRS method enabled brain activity analysis using less complex equipment.
The results showed that pleasant food activated the insular cortex in the left hemisphere of the brain, which is associated with positive emotions and feelings of pleasure. Neutral flavours, on the other hand, activated the right precentral gyrus. This phenomenon is explained by interhemispheric asymmetry—a characteristic of brain function where each hemisphere processes different types of stimuli. The left hemisphere predominantly responds to positive emotions, while the right is associated with processing negative stimuli and avoidance reactions. Thus, the vegetable puree elicited unpleasant emotions in participants.
The researchers also recorded how food perception was reflected in the participants' facial expressions. Pleasant food activated the zygomaticus major muscle, responsible for smiling. In contrast, neutral food caused activation of the corrugator muscle, which furrows the brow before swallowing.
These physiological reactions are so reliable that they can be used to objectively assess taste preferences. Unlike verbal feedback, which can be subjective or insincere, facial reactions provide an honest indication of whether someone enjoys the food. Moreover, the method is simple and efficient: testing just 40–50 people is sufficient to draw conclusions. Such data can be valuable for food companies looking to improve their products.
‘We are actively studying how neurophysiological stimuli influence food perception. For instance, at our institute, we have developed a food delivery system integrated with neurophysiological equipment. This system is synchronised with experimental designs, allowing us to analyse the impact of packaging or price on taste perception. Additionally, my colleagues and I run a Rutube channel on neuromarketing where we share insights on how brain science can be used to effectively promote products and services, as well as to gain a deeper understanding of consumer motives and behaviour,’ explained Julia Eremenko.
The research was conducted as part of the strategic project 'Human Brain Resilience: Neurocognitive Technologies for Adaptation, Learning, Development and Rehabilitation in a Changing Environment' (‘Priority 2030’).
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