TASTE MATCHING--GUSTATORY EQUIVALENCE CLASSES

最小数量的味道化合物(单独或混合) 是否需要匹配任何其他解决方案的味道尚不清楚。L定义 一组在味道上相互匹配的化合物，被认为是“等价物” 类“。我建议为大多数 这项工作使用了一种称为匹配的技术，这种技术很少使用 在味觉心理物理学方面。该方法提供了一个强大的工具来进一步 我们对味觉系统的组织方式的理解。特指 我会问一种化学溶液的味道是否可以呈现出来 与另一种化学物质的味道难以区分 通过改变一个人的强度和组成，同时握住 其他常量。这种心理物理方法成功地描述了 色彩匹配的心理物理规律及色数的确定 视觉编码路径为三条(三色)。平行假说 对于味觉(N-Geusia)将建立一个框架，以确定和 描述味觉匹配的心理物理规律，也会有所帮助 确定对信号进行编码的不同编码路径的数量 品尝品质。如果所有皂类物质的味道都包含一种或 四种特性中的更多，那么就应该有可能匹配化合物 具有复杂的味道，如被描述为甜味的糖精 和苦味，混合了更纯的甜味和 很苦。这个项目的终极目标是确定 不同的刺激物会产生独特的味道，所以 做，提高对人类品味的心理物理学的理解 轰动一时。

The minimal number of taste compounds (singly or mixed) that are necessary to match the taste of any other solution is not known. l define a group of compounds that match each other in taste as an "equivalence class". I propose to identify equivalence classes for the majority of this work using a technique called matching, which has seldom been used in taste psychophysics. This method provides a powerful tool to further our understanding of the organization of the taste system. Specifically I will ask whether the taste of one chemical solution may be rendered indistinguishable from the taste elicited by a different chemical solution by varying the strength and composition of one while holding the other constant. This psychophysical approach successfully described the psychophysical laws of color matching and determined the number of color vision coding pathways to be three (trichromacy). The parallel hypothesis for taste (N-geusia) will establish a framework for identifying and describing the psychophysical laws of taste matching and will also help identify the number of distinct coding pathways that encode signals for taste qualities. If the tastes of all sapid substances comprise one or more of the four qualities, then it should be possible to match compounds with complex tastes, like that of saccharin which is described as sweet and bitter, with mixtures of compounds that are more purely sweet and bitter. The ultimate ~goal of this project is to determine the extent to which different stimuli elicit unique qualities of taste, and in so doing, improve the understanding of the psychophysics of human taste sensation.