Discrimination of emotion and taste by using facial skin blood flow responses

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26282163
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Rehabilitation science/Welfare engineering
• Research Institution: Tokyo Institute of Technology
• Principal Investigator: HAYASHI Naoyuki 東京工業大学, リベラルアーツ研究教育院, 教授 (80273720)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 福場 良之 県立広島大学, 人間文化学部, 教授 (00165309) ; 鍛島 秀明 県立広島大学, 人間文化学部, 助教 (40714746)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 顔面血流 / 味覚 / 神経性因子 / 温度刺激

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We reported that the eyelid blood flow increases when one feels tasty, while nose blood flow decreases when one feels not-tasty. We tested the possibility that facial blood flow responses give us objective information regarding to how the person feels the food. Facial skin blood flow was recorded while 89 subjects ate tasty and non-tasty candies without controlling environments. No characteristic response was obtained. Easy detection of one's feeling was impossible without lab environments. Next, to investigate factors inducing characteristic blood flow response to taste, heat and cold stimuli were applied to subjects' face. Blood flow in cheek and forehead changed accordingly to changes in the temperature of the stimuli. Eyelid showed no response in the blood flow to the change in temperature, and nose showed no decrease response to decrease in temperature. The characteristic response in facial blood flow should be dependent on neural factors, not on responsiveness of facial vessels.

Free Research Field

応用生理学，健康科学