Effect of Different Flavors on Physiological and Psychological Responses after Soup Intake with Nutritional Equivalence

This research examined the effect of two soups with equivalent nutritional values but with different flavors on measures of palatability and physiological responses (the frontal cortex blood flow and the respiratory cardiovascular system). A significant difference in palatability between the two soups was confirmed through sensory evaluation. In terms of the physiological responses, significant differences between the two soups were observed in the oxygenated hemoglobin at the right side of the frontal cortex, the heart rate, and the respiratory quotient after soup intake. In particular, the intake of the soup with low palatability caused a rise in oxygenated hemoglobin at the right side of the frontal cortex, followed by a sustained rise in the heart rate in the cardiovascular system and a reduction in the respiratory quotient, all of which, we believe, were stress responses.