Biology of sensory perception
8 Multimodal interactions
A sensory modality is the sensation that is perceived after stimulation of one of the type of receptors: chemoreceptor, thermoreceptor or pressure receptor. The different sensory modalities are then combined and integrated in the sensory nervous system, which results in a conscious or unconscious detection of the stimulus. Multiple sensory modalities can interact and influence each other and therefore influence sensory perception, a phenomenon that is also called a multimodal sensation. Examples of multimodal sensations are color and sweetness, through expectation (red strawberries automatically taste more sweet than pale ones, because you expect them to be sweeter), or color and expected flavor (red is expected to be strawberry, and yellow is expected to be lemon in lemonades for example).
Examples of multimodal interactions in food and expectations are illustrated in these short videos. These illustrate the importance of how all our senses contribute to our expectation of taste, and how expectations can influence perceived taste.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=460ID4dUtcg[/embed]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w-DbQhuJtY[/embed]
Example – How all senses perceive one apple
When eating,, multiple senses work together to give the experience. For example, when eating an apple. The color makes the apple look fresh and appealing, giving an expectation of its taste. The crunching sound when biting into it adds to the perception of its crispness. The firmness when holding the apple and the texture when biting into it contribute to the overall sensory experience. When chewing, the sweetness and slight tartness can be tasted, while the aroma adds to the flavor. These sensory inputs combine to create the full eating experience.