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the taste science laboratory

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Taste and smell research at Cornell

Groups studying taste and smell at Cornell can be found in Psychology, Food Science, and at the NY State Agricultural Experiment Station, as well as in the Division of Nutritional Sciences.

Bruce Halpern, in Psychology, studies human retronasal olfaction (the smell that arrives in the nose from items such as food in the mouth) and the effects of aging on chemosensory perception

Harry Lawless, in Food Science, has a particular interest in non-traditional taste exeriences such as the chemical irritation we get from pepper, the astringency we get from tannins and polyphenols, and the metallic taste we get from iron compounds and other chemicals. He has also had a long-standing interest in improving methods for testing sensory perception.

Terry Acree, at the NY State Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva, studies how food flavor can be modified by the chemical composition of the foods, and how perceptions of these flavors varies from individual to individual. He and his students have developed a selective and sensitive bio-assay for smell based on gas chromatography - olfactometry (GCO) called CharmAnalysis. An important goal of his research is to enhance food quality.

Mission

The mission of the Taste Science Laboratory in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University is to elucidate the nature and impact of individual differences in perception - in particular, differences in taste and smell sensitivity - on personality, performance, and preferences. An understanding of the biology and psychology of individual differences will help us to:

• appreciate the diversity of human experience;
• guide people to behaviors (for example, eating behaviors) that increase their well-being;
• help organizations and industries accomodate these individual differences, to maximize the well-being and satisfaction of their employees and clients.

Research

The research performed at the Taste Science Laboratory is centered around the relationships of taste and smell sensitivity to measures of food choice, eating behavior, personality, and decision-making. Some of our findings (with work in progress):

• Highly sensitive tasters tend to be more sensitive than other tasters to most smells as well (Bauer, D. Santi, A., Utermohlen, V. "How Individual Differences in Taste Input Impact Smell and Flavor Perception - An Example of a Complex Process." InterJournal Complex Systems, Article #364).
• Children are significantly more sensitive to taste than their parents - which may explain why you may like some foods now that you would refuse eat when you were a child! (Bauer, D. Santi, A., Utermohlen, V. "How Individual Differences in Taste Input Impact Smell and Flavor Perception - An Example of a Complex Process." InterJournal Complex Systems, Article #364).
• In the food-related professions, highly sensitive tasters tend to be "wine" people; moderately sensitive tasters tend to be chefs; and mildly sensitive tasters tend to be bakers and financial experts (work in progress!).
• The role of memory in imagination varies by taster status, with the association of imagination with memory likely to be strong among tasters ("Was Proust a Taster? Taste Sensitivity to 6-n-Propylthiouracil and the Relationships among Memeory, Imagination, Synesthesia, and emotional Response to Visual Experience." in Food and Foodways, 10:99-109. 2002).
• Decision-making style varies by taster status, with mildly sensitive tasters being more likely to choose reasoning as their preferred mode for coming to decisions ("Taste Sensitivity, Smell Sensitivity, and Reasoning: An Interaction of Genes and Culture?" submitted for publication).
• We are now conducting large scale screening of non-student populations, such as of attendees at the National Restaurant Association's Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, held May 22-25, 2004, and at BookExpoAmerica, held May 18th-21st, 2006.

People

Virginia Utermohlen, MD obtained her undergraduate degree in physics from Washington University in St. Louis, and her medical degree from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. After an internship, residency, and chief residency in pediatrics, she was appointed a post-doctoral fellow at Rockefeller University, and thereafter moved to Cornell University, where she is currently Associate Professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences, College of Human Ecology.

• "Ever since I can remember, I have been fascinated with the question: why do people differ? I don't mean obvious differences, like sex or age, but rather subtle differences, for example differences in their likes and dislikes, in their behaviors and personalities, and in their physical and mental performance. As a faculty member in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell, my fascination with this question has been channelled to an examination of individual differences in taste and smell sensitivity, and how they relate to a number of different aspects of personality and performance."

A number of talented undergraduate and graduate students work in the laboratory under the leadership of Dr. Utermohlen, and are instrumental in carrying out the lab's research efforts.

Location

The Taste Science Laboratory is located in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University, the largest unit devoted to the study of the nutritional sciences in the United States, and conceivably in the world. The laboratory occupies space in Savage Hall and Martha van Rensselaer Hall on the Cornell campus in Ithaca, NY.

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