ABSTRACT
Studies of the brain mechanisms underlying the perception of flavor face several daunting challenges. We use the term flavor to characterize the perception of foods and liquids before, during, and after ingestion. To begin with, it is a multisensory perception, combining input from several sensory systems: the taste and olfactory sensory systems, the trigeminal somatosensory system for the tactile feel of food in the mouth, and the proprioceptive system for the feedback from the muscles involved in mastication. From this perspective, flavor is an example of a sensory modality arising out of the coordinated actions of several sensory systems.
