Food, the brain & sensory illusions | Alejandro Salgado Montejo | TEDxOxford
Summary
TLDREl script explora cómo el cerebro integra diversas sensaciones para comprender y disfrutar del mundo que nos rodea. Se destaca la importancia de la integración sensorial y cómo nuestro entendimiento de la realidad puede ser influenciado por factores como el color, el sonido y la forma de los objetos. El hablante comparte su pasión por la psicología y la neurociencia, y cómo estos campos de estudio se combinan con la gastronomía para crear experiencias culinarias únicas. Además, se discuten conceptos como el 'bouba/kiki' y cómo las formas y los colores pueden predecir y alterar nuestras percepciones de sabores y texturas. La charla concluye con una reflexión sobre cómo el diseño y la ciencia sensorial pueden mejorar nuestras vidas y cómo podemos utilizar estos conocimientos para diseñar alimentos más saludables y deliciosos.
Takeaways
- 🧠 La idea de entender el comportamiento humano llevó al narrador a la psicología después de estudiar economía y matemáticas.
- 🌟 El trabajo en la integración sensorial es importante porque vivimos en un mundo de incertidumbre y la evolución no es perfecta.
- 🍽️ Colaboración con Sean Michelle, un chef que utiliza métodos inspirados en la neurociencia para crear platos y se realiza investigación con él.
- 🧐 La investigación también se lleva a cabo con Carlos, un colega psicólogo experimental, para entender cómo las emociones y los sentidos se comunican.
- 🌈 La percepción de los colores puede influir en nuestras asociaciones con los sabores, como el ejemplo de las nubes que sugieren sabores según su color.
- 🔗 La conexión entre los sentidos es fuerte; el cerebro no trabaja solo con una sensación a la vez, sino que integra múltiples sentidos.
- 🎰 El cerebro 'apuesta' al hacer predicciones basadas en experiencias pasadas para mejorar nuestras experiencias futuras.
- 🏆 El placer y el dolor son medidas clave para el cerebro, ayudando a determinar qué es beneficioso o perjudicial para nosotros.
- 🍫 Una pequeña manipulación en una imagen, como el brillo y la luminosidad, puede hacer que un chocolate parezca más amargo.
- 🔁 El concepto de 'bouba' y 'kiki' muestra cómo las formas pueden estar asociadas con ciertos sabores, olores y texturas.
- 🎼 Los sonidos de diferentes tonos pueden intensificar o disminuir la percepción de ciertos sabores, como el amargor.
- 🌍 El experimento con frutas colombianas demostró que las percepciones sensoriales son universales, independientemente de si las personas conocen las frutas o no.
- 📦 La influencia de la embalaje y la presentación en cómo percibimos los alimentos antes de incluso probarlos.
- 🎨 La importancia del diseño y la estética en la percepción de los alimentos, como el plato inspirado en Kandinsky que se veía más agradable.
Q & A
¿Cómo terminó trabajando en el campo de la comprensión del comportamiento humano?
-Inicialmente estaba estudiando economía, pero después de hacer mucha matemática, me di cuenta de que quería aplicarla para entender el comportamiento humano. Me encontré con la psicología y comencé a trabajar en la comprensión de las emociones y luego con Charles Spence, en la relación entre los sentidos y la percepción.
¿Por qué es importante la integración sensorial en el cerebro?
-La integración sensorial es importante porque vivimos en un sistema incierto y el cerebro debe adaptarse y utilizar múltiples sentidos para obtener una mejor comprensión del mundo que nos rodea.
¿Cómo es la relación entre los sentidos y la percepción del sabor?
-La percepción del sabor no solo está relacionada con el gusto, sino que también puede estar influenciada por factores visuales, textura, temperatura y peso, entre otros. El cerebro integra esta información para crear una experiencia sensorial más rica.
¿Cómo afecta el color a nuestra percepción del sabor de los alimentos?
-El color puede influir en nuestra percepción del sabor, por ejemplo, un color rosa podría asociarse a un sabor dulce, mientras que un color verde o amarillo podría sugerir un sabor más ácido.
¿Cómo se relaciona la forma con la experiencia sensorial de los alimentos?
-La forma puede tener un impacto significativo en la experiencia sensorial. Por ejemplo, las formas que evocan asociaciones con ciertos sabores o texturas pueden hacer que los alimentos parezcan tener un sabor específico incluso antes de probarlos.
¿Por qué es útil entender la conexión entre los sentidos para mejorar nuestras experiencias?
-Al entender cómo los sentidos se conectan, podemos diseñar experiencias que maximicen la satisfacción y la salud, como alimentos que combinen de manera efectiva texturas, sabores y olores para mejorar su palatabilidad y atractiva.
¿Cómo puede la música influir en la percepción del sabor de una bebida como la cerveza?
-La música con tono bajo puede hacer que una bebida parezca más amarga, mientras que la música con tono alto puede hacer que parezca más dulce. Esto se debe a la conexión entre el sentido auditivo y el gustativo en el cerebro.
¿Cómo se relacionan los colores con la percepción de la intensidad del sabor?
-Los colores pueden alterar nuestra percepción de la intensidad del sabor. Por ejemplo, el rojo ha demostrado tener un impacto en la capacidad matemática y en la fuerza motora, y puede ser asociado con sabores más intensos.
¿Qué es el concepto de 'Bouba' y 'Kiki' y cómo se relaciona con la percepción sensorial?
-Bouba y Kiki son formas que se asocian con ciertos sabores, olores y texturas. La teoría sugiere que ciertas formas visuales evocan asociaciones con experiencias sensoriales específicas, lo que puede influir en cómo percibimos el sabor de los alimentos.
¿Cómo puede la ciencia sensorial ayudar en la aceptación de alimentos no tradicionales en una cultura?
-La ciencia sensorial puede utilizarse para diseñar alimentos no tradicionales de una manera que se alineen con las expectativas sensoriales de una cultura, facilitando su aceptación. Por ejemplo, usando formas y colores asociados con sabores positivos para alimentos que normalmente no serían populares.
¿Por qué es importante considerar la experiencia sensorial al diseñar un producto alimenticio?
-La experiencia sensorial es crucial ya que influye en nuestra percepción del sabor, calidad y placer del alimento. Un diseño que tenga en cuenta la integración de los sentidos puede aumentar la satisfacción del consumidor y la aceptación de nuevos productos o sabores.
Outlines
🧠 La importancia de la integración sensorial en la percepción
El primer párrafo aborda la transición del estudio de la economía a la psicología, con el interés en aplicar la matemática al entendimiento del comportamiento humano. Se destaca la importancia de la integración sensorial y cómo el cerebro humano, a pesar de ser un órgano preciso, tiene que adaptarse y trabajar con información inexacta para construir la realidad. Se menciona la colaboración con colegas y la aplicación de métodos inspirados en la neurociencia en la creación de alimentos, así como la investigación de cómo los sentidos se comunican entre sí.
🌈 Los sentidos y la experiencia del placer y el dolor
Este párrafo explora cómo el cerebro utiliza múltiples sentidos para mejorar la precisión de sus predicciones y cómo esto enriquece nuestras experiencias. También discute cómo el cerebro mide el placer y el dolor, y cómo estos aspectos influyen en nuestras decisiones y preferencias. Se habla de la influencia de factores como el color y el sonido en la percepción de sabores y cómo estos pueden ser utilizados para mejorar la vida diaria y la experiencia del consumo de alimentos.
🍫 La conexión entre los sentidos y la experiencia del gusto
El tercer párrafo se enfoca en la complejidad de la experiencia del gusto, que va más allá del sabor y el aroma para incluir textura, temperatura y color. Se cuestiona dónde se encuentra el 'gusto' en el cerebro y se sugiere que podría estar distribuido en varias áreas sensoriales. Se describe una investigación que compara la percepción sensorial entre personas de Colombia y del Reino Unido utilizando frutas colombianas, y cómo los resultados indican que las experiencias sensoriales son similares, independientemente de la cultura.
🎨 La influencia del diseño y la ciencia sensorial en la comida
El último párrafo discute cómo el diseño y la ciencia sensorial pueden influir en la aceptación de alimentos, como los insectos, en culturas occidentales. Se explora la idea de utilizar formas y diseños para comunicar y cambiar la percepción de los sabores, y cómo esto puede aplicarse a la creación de alimentos más saludables y agradables. Se menciona el éxito de Heineken como un ejemplo de cómo el diseño y la ciencia sensorial pueden mejorar la experiencia del consumo y contribuir al éxito de una marca.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Comportamiento humano
💡Psicólogo experimental
💡Integración sensorial
💡Compensación cerebral
💡Sensoriología
💡Correspondencia sensorial
💡Diseño de experiencias
💡Bouba/Kiki
💡Influencias culturales
💡Neuro gastronomía
💡Sensoriología aplicada
Highlights
The speaker transitioned from economics to psychology to apply math to understanding human behavior.
The importance of sensory integration in adapting to an uncertain system.
Working with a team that includes a French-Columbian chef applying neuroscience to food.
The brain's attempt to integrate multiple senses to create a comprehensive understanding of experiences.
The analogy of the Nazca lines in Peru to the complexity of the brain and sensory perception.
Colors can influence perceived flavors, as demonstrated by the changing color of the Christchurch meadow.
The concept of 'bouba' and 'kiki' shapes influencing taste perceptions.
The brain's use of past experiences to predict and compensate for sensory input.
The impact of color on cognitive performance, such as math tests and physical strength.
The idea that taste is not just flavor and smell, but also includes visual, tactile, and auditory elements.
Experiments with Colombian and UK participants on the universality of sensory experiences with unfamiliar fruits.
The potential for sensory science to influence food design and marketing across cultures.
The challenge of getting Western populations to adopt insect-based diets using sensory science.
The influence of packaging design, including shape, color, and texture, on taste perception before consumption.
The creation of a Kandinsky-inspired dish and its increased appeal due to design and balance.
The conclusion that playing with the senses is the best way to create and discover new experiences.
Transcripts
so I really loved the idea of
understanding behavior and I ended up in
this field by accident I was actually
studying economics and well basically
after I did a lot of math I realized
that I really wanted to apply that math
to understanding human behavior and then
I bumped into psychology and I said oh
this is interesting and I started
working on that and then basically I
worked on understanding or less emotions
and then I met Charles Spence on Sat all
these sensory stuff is awesome I want to
work on this
I want understand the relationship
between the two so today I want to talk
about why I think the world is inside
our brain that is very constant compared
to the world that comes into our brain
we live in a world of physical and
chemical constants that is actually very
accurate compared to what comes in here
it's still very good evolution has a
very good job but it's not perfect and
so we live in a in an uncertain system
that's that's why sensory integration
which is a big topic today is so
important that's why the brain has to
adapt get friends talk communicate and
try to get a better a better idea of
this world so I don't worked alone I
work with a team of people so I work
with Sean Michelle who's French
Columbian chef who does amazing and
crazy food and just basically applies
neuroscience inspired methods to create
his food and then we do research on it
with him to see not of him sometimes but
not generally of the food and with
Carlos who's my other colleague who
basically is another experiment
psychologist so we basically work
together trying to understand through
basics through everyday things like food
or film or that sort of thing how the
brain works and how senses communicate
to each other so this is a picture of a
condor in the Nazca lines in Peru which
is a place I really love and that really
shocked me when I went there and so I
think that the brain and especially
the census is a lot like the Nazca lines
they were discovered by accident and you
have to look in them look at them from a
distance to actually get an idea of
what's going on you have to go there you
have to go up in an airplane and see wow
these 114 square meter lines that look
like birds and monkeys and spiders are
there and you think why did they do that
what's what's there and you can't see
them if you walk around on that desert
you have to go up in the plane and say
oh there's something there so what the
brains the same thing if you're walking
around you might think your experience
is through your senses and you might get
a theory on it you say oh when I buy the
burger I get that taste on it and say
all this works this is good right but
the way it actually works we have to
step a bit out and say oh there's a lot
to it so that's also what I'm going to
talk about today so you see this photo
of the Christchurch meadow it's a bit
weird right tackle delegates something
changing colour so you think about the
colours are moving there and I asked you
well what sort of flavours would you
think those clouds have right you say
okay this guy's crazy I'm not arguing
there but basically what what flavors do
you think if the colour pink is it is it
sweet or is it sour right you'd say well
maybe it's sweet right and and would
something green or yellow would it be
small more sour than something pink
you'd say well maybe yeah and a lot of
us will agree most of us will agree so
that's what I work on
that's what Sean Michelle was sitting in
row 34 either I know where you are so
don't try anything crazy is working on
as well what we're trying to understand
is how we can connect a color or a
flavor or a smell or even a texture to
each other what's going on there so we
do have a very powerful interesting
sensory brain we have a brain that is
connected to many senses and that talks
to them and they talk to it so that's
why I think that the world is inside of
us because the world out there
the
perfect awesomely constructed
physical-chemical world out there cannot
be experienced perfectly by our brain so
he compensates one of the ways he
compensates is by gambling yes how does
it gamble it goes and says I think that
must be read more or less so he says it
might not be exactly read but we're
gonna saves read and see how good it
works sometimes we make mistakes so the
brain compensates for that for that next
time right but the world is much more
complex than that so it's not only about
what color it is but then the brain says
ok that's going to taste really good how
do you know oh because last time we had
a an ice-cream of that color that
smelled like that that was as heavy as
that in that sort of packaging all that
was great so that's that sounds really
good so the brain does to reduce noise
to reduce interference is to say ok I'm
going to use my smell and my vision and
maybe even my touch or the temperature
to get all that data to make sure that
my prediction is better than just one
sense so that how that's how it works so
really every time you're out there in
the world tasting something kissing
someone or doing lots of other stuff
your brain is trying to integrate as
many of the of the senses possible to
make it a wonderful experience and to
understand the experience because in the
end a good experience is an experience
that the brain can understand the other
thing it does as I was saying is to
measure pleasure and pain we have to
know we're screwing up basically so it's
easy with basic things like if you're
cutting with scissors and you don't
notice you're cutting your finger your
brain will tell you don't cut that it's
not good a little bit to the right right
hopefully but again with more complex
things it's not so easy right so real
love how do you how do you explain that
that's so complicated right and then why
do you prefer one product over another
or why do you like that flavor instead
of the other how does that work so the
brain is measuring
how much reward something gives you as
storing it and saying I was okay next
time we're gonna take this information
into account when you go gambling in the
casino because we know that red pays
well and actually red pay so well so I'm
stepping in a really big red dot here
right and that has a red color and red
has been shown to by us our cognition it
can can it can alter how good you are in
math when you're taking a test actually
makes you worse so don't wear red and it
can also alter how much strength motor
output you get when you're running for
example so it's how it's really crazy
how just random things are simple things
like colors or smells can actually
enhance our lives and change our brain
thinks the world is and or can be so
let's let's let's talk about food and I
think that after I talk a little bit
more you'll all get hungry and I'm sorry
about that but well maybe you can all go
out and taste food in a different way so
which chocolate looks more bitter the
one on my right or the one in my left
which one is it more bitter so he's
saying that one that one there that one
there that looks much more bitter right
but it's the same picture I took it's
exactly the same one but something
happened right so I went into Photoshop
I tweaked it a bit and then we say okay
that one's more bitter what's going on
there why can we say just by the change
in lightning and brightness that that
chocolate looks more bitter all because
her senses are getting connected to each
other they're communicating so our brain
never works alone so basically these
guys are called boob on Kiki some of you
might know about them but the awesome
thing about boob on Kiki
is that they're actually shapes that
that have a lot of meaning basically we
know that one of them is booba and the
other one is Kiki and these shapes are
matched to certain flavors certain
smells even certain texture experiences
and everything we work on is based on
this idea that the brain is Cora has a
correspondence in another sense
now we get
so that sound is a very low pitch very
strong sound right so if you eat
chocolate with that sound you'll get an
even more bitter chocolate than if you
eat it with this sound why does that
happen again basically because the way
we think the world works might not be
the way the world works so because we're
walking through that crazy Nazca desert
we can't see the lines so we can't
really tell what's there so everything
just looks like rock rock rock rock dirt
like random trees thing that survived
the desert so that's that's basically
what happened so we say when you ask
someone Oh what does that taste like
you say I taste bitter sour or whatever
but are you thinking oh when they are
asking me tastes are they asking me
smell and flavor just flavor just smell
are they asking me about the texture of
the part are they asking me about the
temperature of the product are they
asking me about how the color of the
product influences the way I decide what
it tastes like in a non conscious way of
course so in the end if we understand
this better we can actually enjoy our
lives better so if you're thinking about
a beautiful boy or girl and you want to
say oh wait I want to cook something
awesome and Surprise them so we don't
have to be awesome chefs like Sean
Michelle to actually cook an interesting
dinner we have to combine the senses
properly so it's not about more it's
about better thinking about what how can
i enhance sweetness with high pitched
sounds or bitterness with low pitch
sounds so we would with a Brit it with a
British beer tastes better with low
pitch music or high pitch music why are
British beers warmer than Belgian beers
is it just because it's British pride or
is it because it's actually theirs or
not there's a logic behind it we say oh
it
because maybe it helps in some way to
enhance the flavor of the beer here so
that those are the questions we could
ask to create a much better experience
in our lives as to why and what is
influencer influenced so where in the
brain is taste what is taste because we
thought taste was just you take a bite
and say oh it tastes like this is flavor
right
chocolate strawberry animal sweat as in
the Bordeaux wines I'm not inventing it
today invented it so where in the brain
is taste and you think well maybe I
thought it was in the tongue but now hmm
somewhere else so the way we thought
about this and the way we tried to
answer this is taste is and has been
classically thought about as just flavor
and smell but we think it's everywhere
we think taste could be just part of
what we see part of what we touch the
weight of a dish right the sparkling of
the champagne all that is part of taste
could be part of the experience so maybe
you have more than five senses we can
even have 21 so we said well does it
work everywhere so hey why don't we go
to Columbia where I'm from Charles
actually said Charles Benson hmm you're
there you two crazy guys is called check
check if the UK people work the same
same as the Colombian people in terms of
how they experience things so we said
let's go try something really crazy not
just anything so okay let's get some
Columbian fruits so I'm really crazy
Colombian fruits and some of them not so
crazy so we get one the the the round
one there is called Lulu right the next
one is Gua now Anna which is soursop
then we have the pineapple kiss Pina
right then we get passionfruit maracuja
and then we get fake hora which I have
no idea how to say in English tried ask
no one knows so basically we took those
fruits so Charles was coming back and
forth with a bag full of popes
going through customs here and there
like what is it again that you're doing
with these things and what are they and
what's a fake horse so he's trying to
explain to everyone here like look this
is this is just fruit you know they're
like
that that's too weird so he gave it to
them blindfolded and he started testing
them and we asked them how Boober Kiki
they were so they answered how boob on
Kiki they were and they were always
asking seriously is that an actual
experiment we're like yes yes it's all
good it's all good we're serious we're
serious scientists so we got this but
what was awesome wasn't that they
actually could say boo monkey or Kiki
but the Colombians who knew the fruits
and the UK citizens who didn't know what
they were tasting and were feared that
afraid that we were gonna poison them
actually said the exact same booba or
Kiki so he said oh this is awesome so
maybe with all the marketing going crazy
trying to communicate across borders
cross culturally we could think of
something more simple than trying to
create a huge marketing campaign about
how I convinced you to buy the product
regardless if you like the taste or not
or the packaging is funky and weird and
you don't even know what it says cuz
it's in another language maybe I could
actually design something thinking of a
shape that looks like Bua for their
soursop
and a shape that looks like Kiki for the
Lulu so when someone here tastes that
they'll say oh I already knew it sour
because for some reason that shapes
makes me think of something sour so it
can actually change the way we eat it
can actually help us design food that is
healthier and that is tastier so it's
always the other kids don't like the
vegetables well why not and now we have
a big issue us as we were talking with
Sean Michelle before was oh now we need
to eat insects because they're easy to
grow and there's a lot of them it seems
so how do we get Western people to eat
insects that's what he's asking now
that's what he what he's working on
that's what he's thinking about saying
how do we get sensory science to
convince all of us that grasshoppers are
tasty and crunchy delicious things and
we don't have to cover them in chocolate
to get everyone to taste them or just
peel the chocolate off and eat the
chocolate say oh I really like
grasshopper chocolate that's what he's
thinking about
and it's awesome to think that this can
help change that and there's already
companies doing it either
empirically or by design saying oh I
know stars and pointed triangles
talk about sparkling or bitter and I
know that the happy ease in Heineken
make it a little bit sweeter so I tell
them it's bitter but not that bitter
it's a bit heavy but not that heavy it's
a bit like - so our brains I say oh it's
cool
and no wonder Heineken has won the prize
of being the most productive company in
the Netherlands twice I think it's not
all about design and sensory science of
course there's hard work behind it but
really that makes you think hmm maybe a
bit of design and a bit of neuroscience
can really change things for the better
if we know how to steer it and so we got
a little bit crazier reset or maybe how
about shape on yeah shape also changes
the way we look at things but also
changes how much how sweet or sour or
bitter something is so we get a proud
then we get sound and we get color and
we get texture and we get weight and we
get shape and we get temperature all
these things from just the packaging we
have anyone opened the product we
haven't even tasted it it's crazy so
next time you go around and say oh maybe
I'm just going to eat this imagine how
many things are involved imagine how
many crazy things are happening in your
brains and we're just walking through
the desert and we don't even know what's
going on in there so last thing I'm
gonna talk about are you hungry for a
Kandinsky so again Sean Michelle and
Carlos said oh why don't we go and go
crazy on this and say let's do be a
build a dish that looks like a Kandinsky
and guess what if you have a dish that
looks like a Kandinsky people like it
more even if they have the same
ingredient then it looks something plain
and simple and normal why oh the design
and at the balance in it so basically
the best way to create and discover is
to play with the senses thank you
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