Roles of taste sensitivity and preference learning in the acquisition of food preference

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23500986
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Eating habits, studies on eating habits
• Research Institution: Kio University
• Principal Investigator: UEJI Kayoko 畿央大学, 健康科学部, 准教授 (50390208)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): YAMAMOTO Takashi 畿央大学, 健康科学部健康栄養学科, 教授 (60028793)
• Research Collaborator: MINEMATSU Yuji
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-28 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: Flavor / Learning / Aversion / Development / Infancy

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In human studies, as for a convenient method of measuring taste sensitivity, the “Kio’s Taste Test” has been developed. The simultaneous questionnaire survey suggests a relationship between food preference and taste sensitivity at different age groups.
In animalexperiments, the present study examined whether weanling animals can acquire associative memory for reward and retain it several weeks later. The reasons for rejection of high-concentration sucrose by weanling rats are also discussed. The present study showed that weanling rats established a conditioned flavor preference or aversion depending on the concentration of associated sucrose and retained it in adulthood, indicating that feeding experience in the weanling period is important in influencing later dietary preferences.

Free Research Field

複合領域、生活科学、食生活、食行動