The Brain on Flavour
What happens when we 'taste'
Flavour is a perceptual experience created by the brain. It combines information from several senses, primarily taste and smell, along with texture, temperature, sight, sound, memory, and emotions.
When food or drink enters the mouth, taste receptors on the tongue detect five basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. At the same time, volatile compounds travel from the mouth to the nasal cavity through retronasal olfaction, activating olfactory receptors. This combination of taste and smell forms the basis of flavour perception.
Taste signals are sent to the gustatory cortex, while Smell signals are processed first in the olfactory bulb and then passed directly to brain regions involved in emotion and memory, such as the amygdala and hippocampus. This direct link explains why smells and flavours can trigger emotional reactions or vivid memories with little conscious effort.
The information from taste, smell, and other sensory inputs converges in the orbitofrontal cortex, where they are combined to form the perception of the food and drink we consumed.
The orbitofrontal cortex is also sensitive to expectations. Before tasting, visual and olfactory cues generate predictions about what something should taste like. When those cues are consistent, the experience is reinforced; when they conflict (thin of a purple liquid tasting of orange) the brain detects the mismatch and reduces perceived pleasantness.
Past experiences also strongly shape this process. If a particular flavour or aroma has been associated with a negative event (such as illness, stress, or an unpleasant social situation) the hippocampus and amygdala can store that association and reactivate it later. Even when the flavour itself is neutral, the emotional memory can alter how it is perceived.
The same mechanism explains why positive experiences, like a drink linked to celebration or comfort, can increase liking and perceived quality through emotional recall.
Flavour is therefore not a property of food itself but a construction of the brain.
It results from the integration of sensory input with memory, emotion, and expectation, producing a unified experience that defines how we perceive and respond to what we eat and drink