Repeated exposure can change the perceptual and hedonic features of flavor. Associative learning during which a flavor’s odor component is affected by co-exposure with taste is thought to be central in this process. However, changes can also arise due to exposure to the odor in itself. The aim of this study was to dissociate effects of associative learning from effects of exposure without taste by repeatedly presenting one odor together with sucrose and a second odor alone. Sixty individuals attended two testing sessions separated by a 5-day Exposure Phase during which the stimuli were presented as flavorants in chewing gums that were chewed three times daily. Ratings of odor sweetness, odor pleasantness, odor intensity enhancement by taste, and odor referral to the mouth were collected at both sessions. Consistent with the notion that food preferences are modulated by exposure, odor pleasantness increased between the sessions independently of whether the odor (basil or orange flower) had been presented with or without sucrose. However, we found no evidence of associative learning in any of the tasks. In addition, exploratory equivalence tests suggested that these effects were either absent or insignificant in magnitude. Taken together, our results suggest that the hypothesized effects of associative learning are either smaller than previously thought or highly dependent on the experimental setting. Future studies are needed to evaluate the relative support for these explanations and, if experimental conditions can be identified that reliably produce such effects, to identify factors that regulate the formation of new odor–taste associations.

中文翻译：

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食物感知中的气味-味道相互作用：暴露协议显示联想学习没有影响


反复接触可以改变风味的感知和享乐特征。联想学习被认为是这一过程的核心，在此过程中，风味的气味成分受到与味道共同暴露的影响。然而，由于接触气味本身，也会引起变化。这项研究的目的是通过反复呈现一种气味和蔗糖以及单独呈现第二种气味，将联想学习的影响与无味接触的影响分开。 60 个人参加了两次测试，测试期间间隔了 5 天的暴露阶段，在此期间，刺激物以口香糖中的调味剂形式呈现，每天咀嚼 3 次。在两次会议中收集了气味甜味、气味宜人性、味道增强的气味强度以及口腔中的气味的评级。与食物偏好是通过暴露来调节的概念相一致，无论气味（罗勒或橙花）是否含有蔗糖，两次治疗之间的气味愉悦感都会增加。然而，我们在任何任务中都没有发现联想学习的证据。此外，探索性等效性测试表明这些影响要么不存在，要么在大小上微不足道。综上所述，我们的结果表明，联想学习的假设效果要么比之前想象的要小，要么高度依赖于实验设置。未来的研究需要评估这些解释的相对支持，并且如果能够确定可靠地产生这种效应的实验条件，则需要确定调节新气味-味道关联形成的因素。