ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses multisensory flavor perception, with an emphasis on both interactions of chemosensory cues and effects of non-chemosensory cues on chemosensory perception. Congruency-enhanced pleasantness of chemosensory stimuli between olfactory and trigeminal stimuli has also been observed. The chapter introduces concepts, roles in daily life, anatomy and physiology, and other influential factors related to olfactory, gustatory, and oral somatosensory systems predominantly associated with a perception of flavor. The perception of flavor can be influenced by sensory characteristics of the meal items, as well as non-sensory factors such as socio-demographics, personality traits, emotional states, and surrounding contexts. R. L. Hall specified flavor as “the sensation produced by a material taken in the mouth, perceived principally by the senses of taste and smell, and also by the general pain, tactile and temperature receptors in the mouth. The “chemesthesis” was introduced to define the chemical sensibility of the skin and mucous membranes as senses other than chemical.
