Activity of frontal pole cortex reflecting hedonic tone of food and drink: fNIRS study in humans

Abstract

Cognitive and hedonic aspects of taste have been studied using different neuroimaging techniques in humans. However, the methods used are unsuitable for easy monitoring of hedonics induced by intake of foods and beverages. Here we have tried to monitor changes in oxygenated hemoglobin (oxyHb) levels in the anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC, frontopolar cortex, Brodmann area 10) in response to intake of hedonically different edibles in healthy adults. When subjects tasted sweet and bitter solutions freely without any particular instruction, cortical activation varied greatly among subjects and between the two stimuli, and no consistent results were obtained. Subjects then ate or drank preferred (hedonically positive) and disliked (hedonically negative) edibles. Although these stimuli differed among subjects, hedonically positive stimuli decreased oxyHb, whereas hedonically negative stimuli increased oxyHb, particularly in the ventral aPFC. When subjects tasted 4 kinds of jellies with different flavors and evaluated the degree of pleasantness, oxyHb level in the ventral region correlated negatively with pleasantness score. These results revealed that pleasant and unpleasant edibles tended to elicit decreased and increased oxyHb levels, respectively, within the ventral aPFC, suggesting that monitoring of oxyHb in this region may prove useful for objective evaluation of pleasantness of food and drink.

Analysis of facial expressions in response to basic taste stimuli using artificial intelligence to predict perceived hedonic ratings

“…For this purpose, various physiological reactions evoked by taste stimuli depending on the quality and/or hedonic tone have been more or less used for the objective evaluation of food and beverage hedonics (e.g., positive vs. negative; palatable vs. aversive; pleasant vs. unpleasant; acceptable vs. rejective). For example, taste effects can be observed in autonomic nerve activity such as salivary secretion [5,6], heart rate [7,8], and facial blood flow [9,10], hormonal changes such as insulin [11] and cortisol secretion [12], motor reactions such as facial expressions [13][14][15][16][17] and bodily reactivity [17], and brain activity [18][19][20][21]. A recent study from our lab revealed that pleasant and unpleasant edibles tended to elicit decreased and increased oxyhemoglobin (oxyHb) levels, respectively, within the ventral part of the anterior prefrontal cortex, suggesting that monitoring of oxyHb in this region may prove useful for the objective evaluation of food and beverage hedonics [21].…”

Ingestion of maple-based and other carbohydrate sports drinks: effect on sensory perceptions during prolonged exercise

“…A bitter or sweet taste was previously shown to interact with corticomotor excitability [ 13 ] and brain oxygenation [ 16 ]. Although, recent results from our laboratory show no difference in brain oxygenation during repeated high-intensity cycling bouts with carbohydrate ingestion (including maple products) or water [ 12 ].…”

Applying Mobile Consumer Neuroscience for Food Marketing - the Special Case of fNIRS

“…However, to date, there is a lack of studies that have actually applied the methodology to research questions in food-and nutrition-related consumer behavior processes. Therefore, the potential of fNIRS for foodrelated contexts is yet not well-known (Minematsu, Ueji, & Yamamoto, 2018). Similarly, it is not yet clear in which areas of consumer research for food marketing fNIRS can be used best and what applications might be promising and what some limitations are concerning the application of fNIRS.…”

“…as secondary cortical taste zone (Kringelbach, O'Doherty, Rolls, & Andrews, 2003;Rolls, 2015;Small et al, 2007;Small, 2012). Minematsu, Ueji, and Yamamoto (2018) showed that activity changes within different areas of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) can be an effective method to objectively evaluate the pleasantness of food and drinks in addition to subjective evaluation with sensory tests. The authors reported tendencies that pleasant tastes decrease oxygenated hemoglobin (oxyHb) in the PFC, while unpleasant tastes might increase them (Minematsu et al, 2018).…”

“…Minematsu, Ueji, and Yamamoto (2018) showed that activity changes within different areas of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) can be an effective method to objectively evaluate the pleasantness of food and drinks in addition to subjective evaluation with sensory tests. The authors reported tendencies that pleasant tastes decrease oxygenated hemoglobin (oxyHb) in the PFC, while unpleasant tastes might increase them (Minematsu et al, 2018). Moreover, the lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC) seems to be a critical area for cognitive processing of taste and other food-related behaviors (Kringelbach et al, 2003).…”