Sally Eldeghaidy1,2, Luca Marciani3,
Johann C. Pfeiffer4, Joanne Hort4, Kay Head2,
Andy J. Taylor4, Robin C. Spiller3, Penny A. Gowland2,
Sue Francis2
1Physics Departement, Suez Canal
University , Ismailia, Egypt; 2Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic
Resonance Centre, Nottingham, United Kingdom; 3Nottingham
Digestive Diseases Centre NIHR Biomedical Research Unit,, Nottingham
University Hospitals, Nottingham, United Kingdom; 4Flavour
Research Group, Division of Food Sciences, University of Nottingham,
Nottingham, United Kingdom
Improved
paradigms (including dual-echo EPI, spray delivered samples and an immediate
swallow) and subtraction and conjunction analysis methods have been used to
study the crossmodal, supra-additive response to a congruent flavour. We show the control stimulus may cancel out
some cortical responses of interest, and that a conjugate analysis is
advantageous to subtraction analysis, showing additional supra-additive
activity in oral somatosensory areas (SII and inferior parietal areas). This
supports the suggested model for flavour perception that the oral somatomotor
areas play a principal role in binding taste, aroma and oral somatosensory
modalities into the flavour percept.