Satomi Kunieda

Scents boost preference for novel fruits

When faced with a novel food, multisensory information that includes appearance and smell is a very important cue for preference, categorization, and the decision of whether or not to eat it. We elucidated whether olfactory information leads to biased visual categorization of and preference for fruits, even when odors are presented subliminally. We employed morphed images of strawberries and tomatoes combined with their corresponding odorants as stimuli. Participants were asked to categorize the images into either of two categories, to evaluate their preference for each visual image, and to judge the presence/absence of the odor. Results demonstrated that visual categorization was not affected by the odor manipulation; however, preference for uncategorizable images increased when odors were presented regardless of the participants awareness of the odor. Our findings suggest that visual preference for novel fruits is based on both conscious and unconscious olfactory processing regarding edibility.

Infant visual preference for fruit enhanced by congruent in-season odor.

We explored the ability of infants to recognize the smell of daily foods, including strawberries and tomatoes, by using a preferential-looking-technique. Experiment 1 was conducted while strawberries were in season (from March to June) in order to enhance the frequency of participant exposure to strawberries outside of the laboratory. Thirty-seven infants aged 6-8 months were tested with a stimulus composed of a pair of photos of strawberries and tomatoes placed side by side and accompanied by a strawberry odor, a tomato odor, or no odors. Infants showed a preference for the strawberry picture when they smelled the congruent odor, but no such preference for the tomato picture. These results suggest that even young infants can recognize olfactory-visual congruency. We conducted Experiment 2 while strawberries were out of season (from July to September) to reduce participant exposure to strawberries in their daily life. Twenty-six infants aged 6-8 months were tested with a stimulus composed of a pair of photos of strawberries and tomatoes placed side by side and accompanied by a strawberry odor, or no odors. In Experiment 2, the olfactory-visual binding effect disappeared. This implies that visual-olfactory binding is triggered by an observers experience.

Taste of breath: the temporal order of taste and smell synchronized with breathing as a determinant for taste and olfactory integration

Many studies have reported that subjective taste intensity is enhanced by odors which are congruent, for example a sweet taste and a vanilla odor. Some reports have suggested that subjective taste is more strongly enhanced by retronasal than by orthonasal odors; others have suggested that taste enhancements by both odor routes are identical. Differences between the two routes include the direction of airflow accompanying breath. Thus, it is possible that the order of gustatory and olfactory stimuli when breathing through either route while drinking is a determining factor for taste-odor integration. To reveal the natural relationship between taste intensity enhancement by odors and breath, synchronization of odor stimulation with the breath is necessary. Here, we examined whether the enhancement of a sweet taste is induced by a vanilla odor presented in various combinations of odor routes, immediately before and immediately after drinking. The results showed that a retronasal odor after drinking enhanced taste, but an orthonasal odor before drinking did not. The retronasal odor before drinking and the orthonasal odor after drinking did not enhance the sweet taste. These results show that congruency with the natural order of stimulus and kinetic sensation is a determining factor for odor-induced taste enhancement.

Kansei interaction between fragrance and behavior in music therapy

The aim of this study is to clarify the effect which aroma (fragrance and/or flavor) push to the behavior in a scene of the music therapy. The music therapy is designed to improve the functioning of mind and body at using which music has the function and role for the illness and health. And this therapy is used in broad fields such as a mental disease, a dementia, a handicap, and a terminal care, etc., however, the rehabilitation effect is not clear. So, we studied the behavioral effect to the demented elderly by using the rhythm instrument with and/or without the four types of fragrances, which are all natural oils. The frequency which the musical instruments were shaken by elderly was measured as active index, and was compared, under the condition of with and/or without fragrance. Result showed different improvement in the behavior depending on the kind of fragrance. Peppermint oil activated the behavior, and cinnamon oil inactivated the behavior. Similar effects of peppermint and cinnamon were observed in the evaluation of music therapy scene. The aroma strengths of these four fragrances were weak enough, so the elderly participants were not conscious of the aroma. If the participants were to try to find the character of these fragrances, they would need to pay attention and consciously aware of the aroma. We concluded that the fragrances have had the subliminal effect on the participant, as a result affected the behavior of the elderly. We propose the new function of the aroma and the improvement in the music therapy effect by clarifying Kansei interaction of the aroma and behavior in this research. Moreover, we think that it is important also from the viewpoint of transfer of scent information to research the human activity to a scent stimulus.

Kansei interaction between flavor and texture in eating quality

Eating quality is comprised of several different factors; chemical (taste and flavor) and physical (temperature, appearance, and sound) actualized properties of the food, as well as latent influences such as the past experience and mental and physical state of the consumer. In the field of Kansei engineering, the relationships between several evaluation factors are called Kansei interaction. The purpose of Kansei research is to produce products that effectively optimize these mutual interactions. The purpose of this study is to clarify the Kansei interaction between flavor and texture in food products. The control sample was plain sausage with no added spices. Three variable sausages were flavored with different seed spices (flavors A, B, and C).The eating quality of the sausages was rated using nine evaluation terms. After eating a sausage set, the panel assigned positive points if they rated the flavored sausage more highly in each of the eating quality categories. The two analytical methods used in this study were mean difference 95% critical interval of means and graphical modeling, a type of cause and effect analysis. There were no significant differences noted for crunchinness and deliciousness between any of the variables. Our study found that the interpretation of the texture of a food may change based on a particular flavoring, and that this ultimately determines the desirability or deliciousness of a product.