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Context Effect on Temporal Resolution of Olfactory–Gustatory, Visual–Gustatory, and Olfactory–Visual Synchrony Perception

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Chemosensory Perception

Abstract

Introduction

If odor and taste are presented in a context with high temporal proximity, they are more likely to be perceived as a flavor object. However, if odor and taste are presented in a context with low temporal proximity as well as a context with high temporal proximity, they may be less likely to be perceived as a flavor object. Based on these expectations, we hypothesized that sensitivity to temporal difference between two sensations (i.e., temporal resolution of synchrony perception) is higher when odor and taste are presented under a condition including a context with low temporal proximity than under a condition excluding it.

Methods

To test this hypothesis, we required participants to determine whether olfactory and gustatory stimuli were presented simultaneously under a condition including a context with low temporal proximity (wide-range condition) and under a condition excluding it. In addition, we also tested visual–gustatory and olfactory–visual combinations.

Results

The temporal resolution was significantly higher under the wide-range condition than under the narrow-range condition, supporting our hypothesis.

Conclusion

For odor and taste to be perceived as flavor, people not only must experience high temporal proximity of the two sensations but also must not experience low temporal proximity of the two sensations.

Implication

The findings of this study suggest that the higher the sensitivity to a temporal difference between odor and taste, the lower the robustness of a flavor object (i.e., the strength of the odor–taste connection).

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Funding

This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant No. 26245073, 18H03665, and 18KT0033.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human Informatics and Interaction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba Central 6, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8566, Japan

    Naomi Gotow & Tatsu Kobayakawa

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  1. Naomi Gotow
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  2. Tatsu Kobayakawa
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Correspondence to Tatsu Kobayakawa.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

This study was conducted in accordance with the revised version of the Declaration of Helsinki. All procedures in this study were approved by the ethical committee for ergonomic experiments of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Japan.

Informed Consent

We explained the experiment to each participant in advance of the study and informed them of their right to cease participation even after their initial agreement to participate; informed written consent was acquired from all participants.

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Gotow, N., Kobayakawa, T. Context Effect on Temporal Resolution of Olfactory–Gustatory, Visual–Gustatory, and Olfactory–Visual Synchrony Perception. Chem. Percept. 14, 27–40 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-020-09282-z

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