Sounds Affect Taste

Welcome back. Let’s eat. Wait!

Four plus years ago, I blogged about a Cornell University study that found softening the music and lighting in a fast-food restaurant had no effect on what people ordered, but diners ate less of what they ordered and rated the food more enjoyable (Fast Food Dining). 

That outcome may not have surprised you, but how about this: Research underway elsewhere at the time was learning that sounds affect taste--our five sensitivities, sweet, sour, salt, bitter and umami. 

The five tastes (kitchencounterpodcast.com/introduction-five-tastes/)

Are you with me? Here’s an example of recent work that should help. (Alas, I’m forced to write again about chocolate.)

An international team of collaborators led by an investigator from Belgium’s Vrije Universiteit Brussel had 116 test participants taste the same identical chocolate twice, each time listening to one of two music soundtracks. Although the different soundtracks did not appear to affect the overall enjoyment of the chocolates, the ratings of perceived creaminess and sweetness were higher for one of the soundtracks while ratings of perceived bitterness were higher for the other soundtrack.

None of the participants had synesthesia, the neurological condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway (e.g., hearing) leads to involuntary experiences in a second pathway (e.g., vision). The soundtracks were produced specifically to induce the observed crossmodal affects based on earlier research.

Earlier Work
For a glimpse of some of that earlier research, I’ll focus on work by researchers at the UK’s University of Oxford.

In 2010, they published a study in which 34 test participants preferentially associated sweet and sour tastes to high-pitched notes and umami and bitter tastes to low-pitched notes. The participants also consistently matched the type of musical instrument most appropriate for each taste, such as brass with bitterness.

That same year, they also published a status review of laboratory and field research that demonstrated what we hear (i.e., music, sounds we make while eating, or even pure tones or bursts of white noise) can have a marked effect on our perceptions of food and drink, including consumption speed and amounts, preference ratings and flavor assessments.

In 2012, the Oxford investigators published an update on their status review as well as a study that provided the first convincing empirical demonstration that a background soundtrack could modify the taste of a food.

For that study, they had 20 test participants evaluate four pieces of the exact same cinder toffee. The samples tasted while listening to a soundtrack designed to be more crossmodally matched with bitter-tasting food were rated as tasting significantly more bitter than the samples tasted while listening to a soundtrack designed to be more compatible with sweet-tasting food.

Wrap Up
The research continues, and it extends more broadly to flavor. (Taste refers to our five physically defined sensitivities; flavor is a subjective measure of pleasure, involving taste, aroma, texture and more.)

In his 2015 review of sound and perceived flavor, the lead Oxford researcher described how research has revolutionized our understanding of the importance of what we hear to our enjoyment of food and drink. He cited work on the sounds of mastication (chewing), carbonation, creaminess and even squeaks (certain cheese). 
  

Crispy, crunchy potato chips
(multiple websites)

An example of one study he reviewed and for which he was a co-investigator is a 2004 test of sound and eating potato chips. Although the chips were identical, on biting the chips, test participants rated them significantly crisper and fresher when the sound they heard through closed-ear headphones was increased and, of course, staler and softer when the sound was reduced.

OK, now we can eat. Please choose the music. And thanks again for stopping by.

P.S.
-Belgian-led study on music and chocolate taste in Appetite journal: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666316306134
(You can sample and learn more about the soundtracks at www.thesoundofchocolate.be/)
-2010 Oxford study of sound and taste in Attention, Perception & Psychophysics journal: link.springer.com/article/10.3758%2FAPP.72.7.1994
-2010 Oxford review of sound and taste in Journal of Sensory Studies: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-459X.2009.00267.x/abstract
-2012 Oxford review of sound and taste in Physiology Behavior journal: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22579696
-2012 Oxford study of music and cinder toffee taste in Food Quality and Preference journal: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329311001807
-2015 Oxford review of sound and flavor in Flavour journal:
flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2044-7248-4-3

Cats and Us Revisited

Henry and one of his
many puffballs.

Welcome back. I don’t know about you, but I know a thing or two about cats. I’ve lived with cats much of my life, blogged repeatedly about cats and even published an e-book about cats. (Yes, No More Pets, Please!, is still available from Amazon and other e-book sellers, and as Trump would say, It’s great!)

I would have predicted where we (i.e., people) rank in a recent study of cat preferences, yet I could not have guessed what I found when I dug deeper.

Cat Preferences
Researchers from Oregon State and Monmouth universities conducted a two-step, free-operant assessment of adult cat preferences, testing both pet and shelter cats.

First, they presented three stimuli simultaneously to each cat to determine which of the three the cat preferred based on the time the cat interacted with each. All three stimuli were from a single category of stimuli. In this way, the researchers determined the top preferences in four categories: human social interaction, food, toy and scent.
 
Then the researchers presented the four top preferred stimuli simultaneously to each cat. By monitoring the proportion of time spent interacting with the different stimuli, they determined each cat’s single most preferred stimulus.

What was number one? We were! Most pet and shelter cats chose social interaction with humans as the single most preferred stimulus. Food ranked second.

I doubt that would surprise many cat owners. Still, they shouldn’t carry it too far. As I described in a review of an earlier study, adult cats are quite autonomous and not necessarily dependent on others to provide a sense of security and safety (Cats and Us Addendum). Although cats don’t really need us, they apparently put a high premium on social interaction. Oh, don’t fret. I’m sure your cat adores you.

When Henry was left with us for a year, he
preferred interacting with people but amused
himself with whatever was available.

Cat-Human Interaction
When I followed up on the cat preference study researchers, I learned Oregon State University has a Human-Animal Interaction Lab, one focus of which is on cat-human interactions and cognition. The lab offers free classes in training kittens to sit, come when called, go to the mat and stay, walk on a harness and leash, target (teaching a cat to look at or touch a certain part of herself to a hand or other object or area) and do trick behaviors like standing and fetching.

Contemplating those opportunities for kittens to socialize, play and learn and for cat owners to be schooled in dealing with problem behaviors, I searched online further. I found website after website on training cats, specialists who would solve any cat problem and certification programs in cat training and behavior.

Wrap Up
I never realized so much help was available and that a whole industry had evolved beyond academic majors in veterinary science, animal husbandry and animal behavior. Where was I when all this came about? I was clueless about the world of training rather than just living with cats.

Rex liked being carried, cuddled,
brushed and petted, but never for
more than a few minutes.

Of course there was getting the cats to use a litter box and stop shredding the carpet, furniture and curtains. Getting them to come when we called? That would have only been a problem with a sweet, sort of traumatized shelter cat, Rex (Time for Pets--Cats). 

I suppose if we had Rex now, we could call a cat behaviorist, coach, therapist, psychologist, counselor, whisperer and probably others. Or we could just let her be happy, staring at walls and disappearing if anyone were to visit. You never would have seen her, but thanks for stopping by.

P.S.
Cat preferences study in Behavioural Processes journal:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0376635716303424
Oregon State University Human-Animal Interaction Lab kitten training: thehumananimalbond.com/current-studies/kitten-training/
Oregon State University cat training videos: maueyes.com/category/cat-training-videos/

Links to No More Cats, Please! booksellers:
www.smashwords.com/books/view/652117
www.amazon.com/More-Cats-Please-Warren-Philipson-ebook/dp/B01IPY78B6/
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no-more-cats-please-warren-philipson/1124209018?ean=2940153141701
itunes.apple.com/us/book/no-more-cats-please!/id1138117707?mt=11
store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/no-more-cats-please

Eating Chocolate Bunnies

Dark, white and milk
chocolate rabbits.
(from www.purdys.com/seasonal/easter.htm)

Welcome back. It may seem odd for someone who doesn’t eat candy to have devoted three blog posts to chocolate. There were extenuating circumstances.

The first blog post, Chocolate for Health, was, as advertised, one of my many posts on health in addition to affording me the opportunity to introduce cacao and processing thereof.

The second, Chocolate Bars Addendum, was a history lesson of sorts. At the time, I was posting an addendum for every new blog topic and had to come up with something.

The third chocolate post, Kisses Addendum, was another snippet of history, this one on Hershey KISSES. The post was an addendum to Valentine Kisses, which reviewed research on the oral microbiota associated with intimate kissing (click on the hotlink if you don’t believe me).

Never could I have imagined preparing another blog post on chocolate. Then I came across a research study that left me no choice. My decision was buttressed when I later found media reports on the work that left so much unreported and, worse, wrongly credited survey results to the study.

Ear Removal Seasonality
At the outset, I should correct the media errors. The study researchers, all from the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, mentioned but did not conduct the survey that found 59% of 28,113 respondents preferred to start with ears when eating chocolate bunnies, 33% had no starting point preference and 4% began with the tail or feet.

Chocolate rabbit
missing ears.
(multiple websites)

(By the way, for starting points, the National Confectioners Association awards ears 88.7%, feet 6.6% and tail 4.7%.)

The media may have given undue credit to the researchers because the first author is chair of otolaryngology (i.e., ear, nose and throat)--head and neck surgery, the second is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon and the third is a specialist in clinical psychology.

Nevertheless, the study focus was on when not how as is clearly stated in the title of their paper, Seasonality of Auricular Amputations in Rabbits. The goal was to confirm the hypothesis that traumatic auricular amputations of confectionary rabbits increased during the spring.

And they were successful, at least for the period studied, January 2012 to January 2017. Through online search of reports and images using terms such as “chocolate,” “Easter bunny,” “rabbit,” “Easter,” “ears,” “amputation” and “bunny,” and by applying standard statistical mapping techniques, the researchers showed the incidence of rabbit auricular amputations did indeed peak in the spring each year, specifically, near Easter. 

Incidence of reports of rabbit auricular amputations, 2012-2016.
 (from onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lary.26582/full)

Study Limitations
The researchers recognized the limitations of their analysis, one being they could not determine the prevalence of amputations. That would have required data on both new and existing amputations at a single point in time or during a designated period of time

Another limitation is that, being an observational, retrospective study, the work cannot fully explain the cause of the amputations or establish a causal relationship. Could it be, for example, that human predation is seasonal and that confectionary rabbits happen to be conveniently available in the spring? After all, some 90 million chocolate bunnies are produced each year, typically during the Easter season.

Still another limitation is that the incidence of amputations may be underestimated due to underreporting.

Auricular Reconstruction
As one co-author is a plastic surgeon, the paper offers a detailed account of reconstructive options applicable whether the confectionary rabbit ear is molded in an upright or lop position and either in profile or front facing. The rabbit ear is similar to the human ear with a pinna, helix and scapha, and the appearance of symmetry is key for reconstruction.

He recommends partial reconstruction when the defect is less than 10%, subtotal reconstruction when up to two-thirds of the ear has been amputated and total reconstruction if the amputation exceeds two-thirds. A donor rabbit transplant or prosthesis can be used.

Chocolate rabbit ears (from sweetdesigns.com/item.php?id=362)

Wrap Up
Anyone who doubts that science can be fun should read this paper, published as a “special article” in The Laryngoscope, a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal on otolaryngology that’s been around since 1896. Just don’t expect to see another blog post on chocolate from me. Thanks for stopping by.

P.S.
Rabbit ear study in The Laryngoscope journal: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lary.26582/full
Example reports on rabbit ear study:
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170404090032.htm
www.today.com/food/how-you-eat-chocolate-easter-bunny-says-lot-about-you-t110035
www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/abnormal-eat-chocolate-easter-bunnies-feet-first-article-1.3018738
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/most-eat-chocolate-easter-bunnies-10164393
National Confectioners Association website on Easter candy:
www.candyusa.com/life-candy/easter-central/sweet-easter-insights/

Jogging Mystery Revisited

Welcome back. A very unusual incident occurred while I was jogging last week. Yes, I still venture out to jog between about 0330 and 0400 (a.k.a. 3:30 AM and 4:00 AM). As I yield to age and infirmity, however, my predawn jogging is increasingly predawn jogging-walking-jogging-walking-etc. Nevertheless, the very unusual incident occurred while I was indeed jogging.

Earlier Events
I don’t wish to mislead you. The incident wasn’t anything like that convergence of strange occurrences I described years ago (Predawn Jogging Mystery), when I lived and jogged on a suburban Northern Virginia neighborhood street--the powerful whoosh I heard behind me in the darkness; the helicopter flying patterns overhead, once with a downward pointing searchlight; the fire and rescue vehicles, staffed by men twice my EMT-wife’s size, who sounded a horn after I passed.

Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps the men in fire and rescue garb were not members of a special government organization. Perhaps I should not have cautioned my blog readers that those seemingly innocuous occurrences could be--I didn’t say were--the government’s attempts to conceal an invasion of extraterrestrial aliens. No doubt my warning would have been taken more seriously if our country was then being led by our current president.

Wisconsin Predawn Jogging
Living and jogging in rural Wisconsin, I find predawns are darker. There are only a handful of residences spaced over roughly a third of my route. The occupants have no idea of my predawn proclivities and thus no thought to brightening my path. The remainder of my route is along a country highway.

Instead of near-daily predawn encounters with the Virginia neighborhood’s deer, fox, skunk or rabbit (see Time to Exercise and Exercise Update), sightings here have been rare and often anonymous.

There was a week of chatting with a persistent raccoon that kept raiding my father-in-law’s stash of birdseed until stronger lid ties were in place.

How the large-cat-size, corn-eating
blobs appeared in predawn light.

And one morning, I had to stop suddenly to avoid a cluster of large-cat-size blobs in the darkness. Having noticed corn on the road during my previous afternoon’s walk, I assumed the blobs were feasting animals, probably groundhogs, too engrossed to notice my unstealthy approach.

One other morning, when jogging past the church, I spied something cat-size on the side of the road. The location was too dark for a true identity, but as I passed, the something rushed toward me as an attacking dog might with no growl or bark. I ran faster and didn’t look back, choosing to play it safe. No cat has ever approached me like that.

Daytime view of site of predawn
attack by unidentified something.

The Very Unusual Incident

Daytime view of site of very unusual
predawn jogging incident.

Getting back to the very unusual incident, I was jogging effortlessly on a down-sloping grade and had just passed the site of my earlier encounter with the corn-eating blobs. The unlit house ahead on my right was coming into view in what there was of moonlight, and the road was clear.

I lifted my right foot and something struck my heel!

The blow was hard enough for me to test how fast I could run. Knowing better than to look back while running forward, I was too far away to see more than a dark cat-size blob when I finally slowed down.

Wrap Up
Was it a cat? Was it the same something that attacked me by the church a half mile away? Were those corn-eating blobs really groundhogs? Was the very unusual incident an attempt to contact me? Has whatever I witnessed--well, never really witnessed--in Virginia reached Wisconsin? I’m listening for helicopters.

Am I the only one having such encounters? You’ll let me know, won’t you? Thanks for stopping by.