Jezierska Karolina, Cymbaluk-Płoska Aneta, Zaleska Justyna, Podraza Wojciech
Department of Medical Physics, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, ul. Ku Słońcu 13, 71-073 Szczecin, Poland.
Department of Reconstructive Surgery and Gynecological Oncology, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Al. Powstańców Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland.
Brain Sci. 2025 Jan 19;15(1):92. doi: 10.3390/brainsci15010092.
Many studies, for example, on taste-visual dissonance, have shown that the influence of the visual cortex on taste sensation is enormous. The presented work aims to investigate, using fNIRS, whether a taste stimulus, in this case, the taste of bitter, also causes stimulation of the visual cortex in the fNIRS study.
fNIRS was used to examine 51 participants (204 examinations, 9996 records), collecting signals from the left hemisphere. Differences between the maximum and minimum changes in oxyHb concentrations (ΔoxyHb) for the areas of the brain cortex considered responsible for recording visual and gustatory signals were analyzed. Protocols I, II, III, and IV-activation with distillate water, coffee with lower concentration, reference (no stimulation), and coffee with higher concentration, respectively, were used.
We recorded high signals for teste activation on channels covering the gustatory cortex, which confirms the correctness of the choice of research method. As expected, a significant statistical difference was observed between protocols I, II, and IV and reference III (without stimulation). What seems important is the fact that we also received high signals for the channels 45-49, which cover the visual cortex. The statistical analysis shows no differences between protocols I, II, and IV (different taste activation-water, coffee A, and coffee B) for specific channels for analyzing regions of interest. As a result of the analysis of the correlation between the subjective bitterness assessment solutions and the signal ΔoxyHb height, it was observed that a statistically significant correlation, although weak, occurs only for 14 and gustatory channels, only for coffee with a higher concentration. Additionally, the only statistically significant difference between women and men was observed in Protocol I (water), where the ΔoxyHb signal was twice as high in women compared to men.
In conclusion, we can clearly state that the senses of sight and taste work closely together. Moreover, this cooperation is not one-sided: while visual activation influences taste perception, interestingly, a taste stimulus can also generate a hemodynamic response, activating the visual cortex.
许多研究，例如关于味觉 - 视觉失调的研究，已经表明视觉皮层对味觉的影响是巨大的。本研究旨在使用功能近红外光谱技术（fNIRS）调查在fNIRS研究中，苦味这种味觉刺激是否也会引起视觉皮层的激活。
使用fNIRS对51名参与者进行检查（共204次检查，9996条记录），收集来自左半球的信号。分析了大脑皮层中被认为负责记录视觉和味觉信号区域的氧合血红蛋白浓度（ΔoxyHb）的最大和最小变化之间的差异。分别使用了方案I、II、III和IV——用蒸馏水激活、用较低浓度咖啡激活、参照（无刺激）以及用较高浓度咖啡激活。
我们在覆盖味觉皮层的通道上记录到了用于测试激活的高信号，这证实了研究方法选择的正确性。正如预期的那样，在方案I、II和IV与参照方案III（无刺激）之间观察到了显著的统计学差异。重要的是，我们在覆盖视觉皮层的45 - 49通道上也接收到了高信号。统计分析表明，对于用于分析感兴趣区域的特定通道，方案I、II和IV（不同的味觉激活——水、咖啡A和咖啡B）之间没有差异。通过对主观苦味评估溶液与信号ΔoxyHb高度之间的相关性分析，发现仅在14个味觉通道上，对于较高浓度的咖啡，存在虽弱但具有统计学意义的相关性。此外，仅在方案I（水）中观察到了男性和女性之间唯一具有统计学意义的差异，其中女性的ΔoxyHb信号是男性的两倍。
总之，我们可以明确指出，视觉和味觉密切协作。此外，这种协作并非单向的：虽然视觉激活会影响味觉感知，但有趣的是，味觉刺激也能产生血液动力学反应，激活视觉皮层。
