ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Camilla Arndal Andersen - Neuroscientist
Instead of asking them what they think, Camilla Arndal Andersen covers her subjects in sensors to reveal their unfiltered and subconscious response to food.

Why you should listen

Tapping into the subconsciousness, Camilla Arndal Andersen has found evidence that the brain registers even the smallest taste differences. Her work has also found evidence that fat could be a new sixth basic taste -- seemingly registered by its taste, in addition to its texture and smell.

Arndal Andersen performs these experiments at her lab in Brabrand, Denmark, and as a scientist at DuPont Nutrition and Biosciences ApS. She does it with the ultimate goal to understand how our brain registers sugar and fat, to engineer healthier food without compromising taste.

More profile about the speaker
Camilla Arndal Andersen | Speaker | TED.com
TED@DuPont

Camilla Arndal Andersen: What happens in your brain when you taste food

卡米拉·安多尔·安德森: 我们在进食时都在想些什么

Filmed:
1,767,675 views

神经学家卡米拉·安多尔·安德森通过有趣的实验和趣闻轶事,将我们带入大脑神经和人类感知的世界。她向我们展示了大脑是如何在潜意识中体验食物,并帮助我们理解这些数据是如何让我们吃上又健康又美味的食物。
- Neuroscientist
Instead of asking them what they think, Camilla Arndal Andersen covers her subjects in sensors to reveal their unfiltered and subconscious response to food. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
So I had this very interesting有趣 experience经验
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五年前,我碰到了
00:16
five years年份 ago.
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一件有趣的事儿。
00:18
You know, me and my husband丈夫,
we were out grocery杂货 shopping购物,
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有一天,和往常一样,
00:21
as we do every一切 other day,
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我和我丈夫去买菜,
00:22
but this time, we found发现 this fancy幻想,
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但这次我们看到了
一家特别高大上的店,
00:26
you know, I'm talking fair-trade公平交易,
I'm talking organic有机,
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有这么一类公平贸易、有机,
00:29
I'm talking Kenyan肯尼亚, single-origin单原点 coffee咖啡
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来自肯尼亚单一产区的咖啡,
00:32
that we splurged挥霍 and got.
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我们买了好多。
00:35
And that was when the problem问题
started开始 already已经.
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这时候问题就来了。
00:38
You know, my husband丈夫,
he deemed认为 this coffee咖啡 blend混合 superior优越
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我丈夫觉得买的这类咖啡
00:42
to our regular定期 and much cheaper便宜 coffee咖啡,
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比平常普通便宜的咖啡要好喝,
00:44
which哪一个 made制作 me imagine想像 a life
based基于 solely独自 on fancy幻想 coffee咖啡
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我不禁想象了一下
只有高档格咖啡的生活,
00:49
and I saw our household家庭 budget预算 explode爆炸.
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以我们的经济状况肯定吃不消。
00:51
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑)
00:52
And worse更差 ...
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更重要的是,
00:55
I also feared害怕 that this investment投资
would be in vain徒然.
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我更担心这类投资没什么意义。
00:58
That we wouldn't不会 be able能够 to notice注意
this difference区别 after all.
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毕竟我们根本喝不出来区别。
01:03
Unfortunately不幸, especially特别 for my husband丈夫,
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不巧的是,我丈夫
01:07
he had momentarily瞬间 forgotten忘记了
that he's married已婚 to a neuroscientist神经学家
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时常忘记他的妻子
是一位神经科学家,
01:10
with a specialty专业 in food餐饮 science科学.
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专长是食品科学。
01:12
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
01:13
Alright好的?
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就是这么个情况。
01:14
So without further进一步 ado忙乱,
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那么事不宜迟,
01:16
I mean, I just put him to the test测试.
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我赶忙丢给他一个测试。
01:19
I set up an experiment实验
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我设置了一个实验,
01:21
where I first blindfolded蒙住眼睛 my husband丈夫.
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也就是把我丈夫的眼睛蒙上。
01:24
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
01:25
Then I brewed酿造 the two types类型 of coffee咖啡
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然后冲泡了两种咖啡,
01:29
and I told him that
I would serve服务 them to him
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并告诉他
01:31
one at a time.
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我一次给他喝一种。
01:34
Now, with clear明确 certainty肯定,
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我的丈夫在描述
01:36
my husband丈夫, he described描述
the first cup杯子 of coffee咖啡
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第一杯咖啡的时候十分肯定地说,
01:38
as more raw生的 and bitter.
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这杯更苦更涩。
01:40
You know, a coffee咖啡
that would be ideal理想 for the mornings早晨
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就是那种一大早起床
01:42
with the sole唯一 purpose目的 of terrorizing恐吓
the body身体 awake苏醒 by its alarming惊人 taste味道.
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能让人立马清醒的味道。
01:46
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
01:48
The second第二 cup杯子 of coffee咖啡,
on the other hand,
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而第二杯咖啡,他说
01:51
was both fruity果味 and delightful愉快.
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更令人愉悦,还带些果味,
01:55
You know, coffee咖啡 that one
can enjoy请享用 in the evening晚间 and relax放松.
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是适合晚上喝的那种咖啡。
02:01
Little did my husband丈夫 know, however然而,
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但我的丈夫并不知道
02:04
that I hadn't有没有 actually其实 given特定 him
the two types类型 of coffee咖啡.
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我其实根本没有给他喝两种咖啡,
02:07
I had given特定 him the exact精确 same相同
cup杯子 of coffee咖啡 twice两次.
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而是同一杯咖啡给他喝了两次。
02:10
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
02:13
And obviously明显, it wasn't
this one cup杯子 of coffee咖啡
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显然,并不是这一杯咖啡
02:16
that had suddenly突然 gone走了
from horrible可怕 to fantastic奇妙.
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突然变得好喝,
02:19
No, this taste味道 difference区别
was a product产品 of my husband's丈夫 own拥有 mind心神.
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而是我丈夫的心理作用。
02:23
Of his bias偏压 in favor偏爱 of the fancy幻想 coffee咖啡
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因为他对来自肯尼亚单一产区
的有机咖啡的偏好
02:26
that made制作 him experience经验 taste味道 differences分歧
that just weren't there.
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让他体会到了本不存在的味觉差异。
02:31
Alright好的, so, having saved保存
our household家庭 budget预算,
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所以呢,我轻而易举地
省下了家庭开支,
02:36
and finishing精加工 on a very good laugh,
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还逗得大家笑了笑。
02:38
me especially特别 --
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我呢——
02:39
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
02:40
I then started开始 wondering想知道
just how we could have received收到
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开始思索我们
02:43
two such这样 different不同 responses回复
from a single cup杯子 of coffee咖啡.
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是如何接收两种不同信息的。
02:47
Why would my husband丈夫
make such这样 a bold胆大 statement声明
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为什么我的丈夫可以充满信心的作答
02:51
at the risk风险 of being存在 publicly公然 mocked嘲笑
for the rest休息 of his life?
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而不怕被人在公共场合嘲笑呢?
02:55
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
02:58
The striking引人注目 answer回答 is
that I think you would have doneDONE the same相同.
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别笑,其实大家都一样。
03:03
And that's the biggest最大 challenge挑战
in my field领域 of science科学,
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而这也是我这门学科最大的挑战,
03:06
assessing评估 what's reality现实
behind背后 these answers答案
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即这些答案背后的真相
03:09
that we receive接收.
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是什么。
03:10
Because how are we
going to make food餐饮 tastier美味
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因为如果我们都不能相信人们说的话,
03:13
if we cannot不能 rely依靠 on what people
actually其实 say they like?
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又该怎么才能让食物变好吃呢?
03:18
To understand理解, let's first have a look
at how we actually其实 sense food餐饮.
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要想一探究竟,我们还得来看看
人类是如何感知食物的。
03:22
When I drink a cup杯子 of coffee咖啡,
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当我喝咖啡的时候,
03:25
I detect检测 this cup杯子 of coffee咖啡
by receptors受体 on my body身体,
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身体中的受体分子会感知到,
03:29
information信息 which哪一个 is then turned转身
into activated活性 neurons神经元 in my brain.
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接着信息便会传到活跃的大脑神经元。
03:34
Wavelengths波长 of light
are converted转换 to colors颜色.
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光波被转化为颜色。
03:37
Molecules分子 in the liquid液体
are detected检测 by receptors受体 in my mouth,
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嘴巴里的受体感知到液体分子
03:41
and categorized分类 as one
of five basic基本 tastes口味.
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然后把它们归类为五种基本味道,
03:45
That's salty, sour,
bitter, sweet and umami鲜味.
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即酸,甜,苦,咸,鲜。
03:50
Molecules分子 in the air空气
are detected检测 by receptors受体 in my nose鼻子
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鼻子里的受体会感知空气分子
03:53
and converted转换 to odors气味.
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并转化为香味。
03:55
And ditto同上 for touch触摸, for temperature温度,
for sound声音 and more.
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这些也适用于触摸,温度,声音等等。
04:00
All this information信息 is detected检测
by my receptors受体
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这一切信息都会被身体里
的接受体检测到,
04:04
and converted转换 into signals信号
between之间 neurons神经元 in my brain.
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并转化为大脑神经元之间的信号,
04:07
Information信息 which哪一个 is then
woven编织 together一起 and integrated集成,
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然后信息被编码并组合,
04:12
so that my brain recognizes识别
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这样大脑就可以识别出
04:15
that yes, I just had a cup杯子 of coffee咖啡,
and yes, I liked喜欢 it.
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刚刚喝了杯咖啡,还蛮喜欢的。
04:21
And only then,
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只有在
04:23
after all this neuron神经元 heavy lifting吊装,
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所有神经元都干完活后
04:26
do we consciously自觉 experience经验
this cup杯子 of coffee咖啡.
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我们才能有意识地去体会这杯咖啡。
04:30
And this is now where we have
a very common共同 misconception误解.
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这时人们常常有些误解。
04:35
People tend趋向 to think
that what we experience经验 consciously自觉
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人们总觉得我们有意识感知到的东西
04:39
must必须 then be an absolute绝对
true真正 reflection反射 of reality现实.
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一定反映出了绝对的现实。
04:42
But as you just heard听说,
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但正如我刚刚所说的,
04:44
there are many许多 stages阶段
of neural神经 interpretation解释
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神经解释在实物
和有意识的经验之间
04:47
in between之间 the physical物理 item项目
and the conscious意识 experience经验 of it.
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有很多步骤,
04:52
Which哪一个 means手段 that sometimes有时,
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也就是说,有的时候,
04:54
this conscious意识 experience经验 is not really
reflecting反映 that reality现实 at all.
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有意识的体验并不一定
能反应出真实情况。
04:58
Like what happened发生 to my husband丈夫.
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正如我的丈夫一样。
05:01
That's because some physical物理 stimuli刺激
may可能 just be so weak
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这是因为一些物理刺激可能太过微弱,
05:05
that they just can't break打破 that barrier屏障
to enter输入 our conscious意识 mind心神,
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并不能打破重重关卡
最后进入我们的意识之中,
05:10
while the information信息 that does
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而这个信息
05:12
may可能 get twisted扭曲 on its way there
by our hidden biases偏见.
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则会被隐藏的偏见所扭曲。
05:16
And people, they have a lot of biases偏见.
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人类有太多偏见。
05:23
Yes, if you're sitting坐在 there
right now, thinking思维 ...
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没错,如果你在想,
05:27
you could probably大概 have doneDONE
better than my husband丈夫,
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你肯定不会和我丈夫一样,
05:30
you could probably大概 have assessed评估
those coffees咖啡 correctly正确地,
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并能辨别出这只是同一杯咖啡,
05:34
then you're actually其实
suffering痛苦 from a bias偏压.
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那你可能的确有一种偏见,
05:38
A bias偏压 called the bias偏压 blind spot.
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即偏见盲点。
05:40
Our tendency趋势 to see ourselves我们自己
as less biased than other people.
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我们经常认为自己没有
别人那么多的偏见。
05:45
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
05:46
And yeah, we can even be biased
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没错, 我们甚至可能因为
05:48
about the biases偏见 that we're biased about.
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我们有偏见的偏见而有偏见。
05:50
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
05:51
Not trying to make this any easier更轻松.
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再往前一步说,
05:54
A bias偏压 that we know in the food餐饮 industry行业
is the courtesy礼貌 bias偏压.
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食品业中常见的,是礼貌性偏见。
05:59
This is a bias偏压 where we give an opinion意见
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这种偏见是,我们给出一个
06:02
which哪一个 is considered考虑 socially社交上 acceptable接受,
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社会上普遍认可的观点,
06:05
but it's certainly当然 not
our own拥有 opinion意见, right?
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但这绝对不是我们自己的观点。
06:09
And I'm challenged挑战 by this
as a food餐饮 researcher研究员,
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作为一名食品科学家,
我对此不以为然,
06:12
because when people say they like
my new sugar-reduced糖减少 milkshake奶昔,
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当人们说他们喜欢我手里
的低糖奶昔的时候,
06:17
do they now?
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是真心的吗?
06:18
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑)
06:19
Or are they saying they like it
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还是说,
06:21
because they know I'm listening
and they want to please me?
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他们只是知道我在听这些话,
而他们只想逗我开心?
06:25
Or maybe they just to seem似乎
fit适合 and healthy健康 in my ears耳朵.
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又或者他们只想
让我觉得他们挺健康的,
06:30
I wouldn't不会 know.
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谁知道呢。
06:31
But worse更差, they wouldn't不会
even know themselves他们自己.
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更有趣的是,他们可能
并没有意识到自己的行为。
06:37
Even trained熟练 food餐饮 assessors评审,
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甚至经过严格训练
06:38
and that's people who have been
explicitly明确地 taught
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的食品评估者,那些经过特殊训练
06:41
to disentangle解开 the sense of smell
and the sense of taste味道,
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学习如何分别味觉和嗅觉的人,
06:45
may可能 still be biased
to evaluate评估 products制品 sweeter更甜
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都会因为食物里有香草
06:48
if they contain包含 vanilla香草.
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更认为这份食物比较甜。
06:50
Why?
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为什么?
06:51
Well, it's certainly当然 not
because vanilla香草 actually其实 tastes口味 sweet.
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当然这不是因为香草真的比较甜。
06:56
It's because even these
professionals专业人士 are human人的,
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而是因为这些专家都是人,
07:00
and have eaten吃过 lot of desserts甜点, like us,
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和我们一样吃了很多甜点
07:03
and have therefore因此 learned学到了 to associate关联
sweetness甜美 and vanilla香草.
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并因此将甜度和香草联系在了一起。
07:08
So taste味道 and smell
and other sensory感觉的 information信息
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所以味觉嗅觉和其他感官
07:11
is inextricably有着千丝万缕 entangled纠缠
in our conscious意识 mind心神.
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在我们的意识中是难以分割的。
07:14
So on one hand, we can actually其实 use this.
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所以一方面讲,我们可以利用
07:17
We can use these conscious意识 experiences经验,
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这些有意识的体验,
07:19
use this data数据, exploit利用 it
by adding加入 vanilla香草 instead代替 of sugar
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这些数据,
来研究加多少香草来代替糖
07:24
to sweeten加甜 our products制品.
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去增加食品的甜度。
07:26
But on the other hand,
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但另一方面,
07:29
with these conscious意识 evaluations评估,
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有了这些有意识的评估,
07:30
I still wouldn't不会 know
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我还是不知道
07:32
whether是否 people actually其实 liked喜欢
that sugar-reduced糖减少 milkshake奶昔.
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到底人们是不是真的喜欢低糖奶昔。
07:36
So how do we get around this problem问题?
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那我们该如何解决这个问题呢?
07:37
How do we actually其实 assess评估 what's reality现实
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如何区分有意识的食品评估
07:40
behind背后 these conscious意识 food餐饮 evaluations评估?
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背后的真相呢?
07:42
The key is to remove去掉 the barrier屏障
of the conscious意识 mind心神
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关键在于要移除意识的重重阻拦,
07:46
and instead代替 target目标 the information信息
in the brain directly.
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直接尝试去获取大脑中的信息。
07:51
And it turns out
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事实证明,
07:52
our brain holds持有 a lot
of fascinating迷人 secrets秘密.
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我们的大脑藏有许多不为人知的秘密。
07:55
Our brain constantly经常 receives收到
sensory感觉的 information信息 from our entire整个 body身体,
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大脑通常接收来自全身的感知信息。
08:00
most of which哪一个 we don't even
become成为 aware知道的 of,
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多半我们都没有意识到,
08:03
like the taste味道 information信息
that I constantly经常 receive接收
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比如胃肠道的
08:06
from my gastrointestinal胃肠道 tract管道.
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味道信息。
08:08
And my brain will also act法案
on all this sensory感觉的 information信息.
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大脑会自动处理这些味道信息,
08:13
It will alter改变 my behavior行为
without my knowledge知识,
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会在人们没有意识到
的情况下改变行为,
08:16
and it can increase增加
the diameter直径 of my pupils学生
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并扩大瞳孔,
08:20
if I experience经验 something I really like.
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仿佛我们真的经历了喜欢的事情一样。
08:22
And increase增加 my sweat production生产
ever so slightly
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这个反应还会在情绪激动的时候
08:25
if that emotion情感 was intense激烈.
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提高汗液产出。
08:28
And with brain scans扫描,
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大脑扫描
08:30
we can now assess评估
this information信息 in the brain.
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为我们提供了大脑中的这些信息。
08:34
Specifically特别, I have used
a brain-scanning大脑扫描 technique技术
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我所用的一种大脑扫描技术
08:36
called electroencephalography脑电图,
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叫脑电图,
08:38
or "EEG脑电图" in short,
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即EEG,
08:40
which哪一个 involves涉及 wearing穿着 a cap
studded云集 with electrodes电极,
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这个过程要求人们带上一顶
08:44
128 in my case案件.
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带有128个电极的帽子。
08:47
Each electrode电极 then measures措施
the electrical电动 activity活动 of the brain
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每个电极都会测量大脑的电活动,
08:51
with precision精确 down to the millisecond毫秒.
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精确到毫秒。
08:55
The problem问题 is, however然而,
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然而问题是,
08:57
it's not just the brain
that's electrically active活性,
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并不只有大脑才有电活动,
09:00
it's also the rest休息 of the body身体
as well as the environment环境
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人的全身,包括周遭环境
都包含许多电活动。
09:02
that contains包含 a lot
of electrical电动 activity活动 all the time.
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09:05
To do my research研究,
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为了完成研究,
09:07
I therefore因此 need
to minimize最小化 all this noise噪声.
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我得尽力去除这些外界因素影响。
09:10
So I ask my participants参与者
to do a number of things here.
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所以我让实验者做了如下一些事。
09:14
First off,
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第一,
09:15
I ask them to rest休息 their head
in a chin下巴 rest休息,
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我让他们把头放到腮托上,
09:18
to avoid避免 too much muscle肌肉 movement运动.
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尽量避免肌肉活动。
09:21
I also ask them to, meanwhile与此同时,
stare at the center中央 of a computer电脑 monitor监控
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我还让他们盯着电脑中央,
09:25
to avoid避免 too much
eye movements运动 and eye blinks闪烁.
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以避免过多的眼球转动及眨眼。
09:28
And I can't even have swallowing吞咽,
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甚至还不能咽口水,
09:30
so I ask my participants参与者
to stick the tongue out of their mouth
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所以我让他们把舌头伸出来
09:35
over a glass玻璃 bowl,
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放到玻璃碗上,
09:37
and then I constantly经常 let
taste味道 stimuli刺激 onto the tongue,
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并不停放上味觉刺激物,
09:41
which哪一个 then drip off into this bowl.
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然后他们的口水就可以滴到碗里。
09:43
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
09:45
And then, just to complete完成
this wonderful精彩 picture图片,
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之后,为了画龙点睛,
09:49
I also provide提供 my participants参与者 with a bib围兜,
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我还给了他们一个围兜,
09:52
available可得到 in either pink
or blue蓝色, as they please.
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蓝色或粉色,随他们挑。
09:55
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
09:59
Looks容貌 like a normal正常
eating experience经验, right?
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看起来就像是个
正常进食活动,对吧?
10:01
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
10:03
No, obviously明显 not.
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才怪。
10:06
And worse更差,
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而且,
10:07
I can't even control控制
what my participants参与者 are thinking思维 about,
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因为我无法控制他们的想法,
10:11
so I need to repeat重复 this taste味道 procedure程序
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所以得不停重复这个实验
10:13
multiple times.
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很多次。
10:14
Maybe the first time,
they're thinking思维 about the free自由 lunch午餐
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或许第一次,他们在想我提供的
10:17
that I provide提供 for participating参与,
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免费午餐,
10:19
or maybe the second第二 time,
they're thinking思维 about Christmas圣诞 coming未来 up
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第二次,在想即将到来的圣诞
10:23
and what to get for Mom妈妈
this year, you know.
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得给妈妈买什么。
10:27
But common共同 for each response响应
is the response响应 to the taste味道.
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但每次都是对味道的反应
10:31
So I repeat重复 this taste味道
procedure程序 multiple times.
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所以我不停重复这些步骤。
10:34
Sixty六十, in fact事实.
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重复了六十次。
10:37
And then I average平均 the responses回复,
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然后对实验结果去了平均值,
10:38
because responses回复 unrelated无关
to taste味道 will average平均 out.
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因为那些无关味觉的都可以被平均掉。
10:42
And using运用 this method方法,
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用了这个办法,
10:43
we and other labs实验室,
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我和其他实验室
10:46
have investigated调查 how long a time
it takes from "food餐饮 lands土地 on our tongue"
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研究了从“食物碰到舌头”,
10:50
until直到 our brain has figured想通 out
which哪一个 taste味道 it's experiencing经历.
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到大脑终于弄明白那是什么样的味道
需要多久。
10:53
Turns out this occurs发生 within the first
already已经 100 milliseconds毫秒,
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我们发现,整个过程发生在前100毫秒,
10:56
that's about half a second第二
before we even become成为 aware知道的 of it.
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也就是我们有所感知之前半秒钟。
11:00
And next下一个 up, we also investigated调查
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之后,我们还研究了
11:02
the taste味道 difference区别 between之间 sugar
and artificial人造 sweeteners甜味 剂
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糖和其他人工甜味剂的味觉差异,
11:05
that in our setup建立 taste味道 extremely非常 similar类似.
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发现并无不同。
11:08
In fact事实, they tasted so similar类似
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甚至可以说,
11:10
that half my participants参与者
could only barely仅仅 tell the taste味道 apart距离,
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半数的受试者都很难区分,
11:14
while the other half simply只是 couldn't不能.
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而另一半则完全无法区分。
11:17
But amazingly令人惊讶,
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最令人惊叹的是,
11:18
if we looked看着 across横过
the entire整个 group of participants参与者,
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如果我们将整组受试者进行比较,
11:21
we saw that their brains大脑
definitely无疑 could tell the taste味道 apart距离.
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他们的大脑绝对可以识别差异。
11:26
So with EEG脑电图 and other
brain-scanning大脑扫描 devices设备
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所以有了脑电图和其他大脑扫描设备
11:29
and other physiological生理 measures措施 --
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及其他生理测试的辅助——
11:31
sweat and pupil瞳孔 size尺寸 --
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研究汗液和瞳孔——
11:33
we have new gateways网关 to our brain.
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我们走上了通往大脑的新道路。
11:35
Gateways网关 that will help us
remove去掉 the barrier屏障 of the conscious意识 mind心神
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这条路可以帮助我们免去意识的屏障,
11:39
to see through通过 the biases偏见 of people
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看穿人类的偏见,
11:41
and possibly或者 even capture捕获
subconscious潜意识 taste味道 differences分歧.
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甚至还能捕捉潜意识中的味道差异。
11:44
And that's because we can now measure测量
people's人们 very first response响应 to food餐饮
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这是因为现在我们可以测量
人体对食物的第一反应,
11:49
before they've他们已经 become成为 conscious意识 of it,
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甚至先于人类的自我认知,
11:50
and before they've他们已经 started开始 rationalizing合理化
why they like it or not.
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在他们开始思索到底喜不喜欢之前。
11:54
We can measure测量 people's人们
facial面部 expressions表达式,
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我们可以研究人的面部表情,
11:56
we can measure测量 where they're looking,
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他们在看哪,
11:59
we can measure测量 their sweat response响应,
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可以研究汗液反应,
12:01
we can measure测量 their brain response响应.
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大脑反应。
12:04
And with all these measures措施,
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所有的这些测试
12:06
we are going to be able能够
to create创建 tastier美味 foods食品,
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都能帮助我们创造更好吃的食物,
12:08
because we can measure测量
whether是否 people actually其实 like
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因为我们能知道人们究竟喜不喜欢
12:10
that sugar-reduced糖减少 milkshake奶昔.
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那杯低糖奶昔。
12:12
And we can create创建 healthier健康 foods食品
without compromising折中 taste味道,
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我们还能在不影响味道
的前提下产出更健康的食品,
12:16
because we can measure测量 the response响应
to different不同 sweeteners甜味 剂
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因为我们可以研究人们
对不同甜味剂的反应,
12:19
and find the sweetener糖精 that gives
the response响应 that's more similar类似
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并找出哪一种
最接近糖。
12:22
to the response响应 from sugar.
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12:24
And furthermore此外, we can just help
create创建 healthier健康 foods食品,
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进一步讲,我们可以
生产出更健康的食物,
12:26
because we can help understand理解
how we actually其实 sense food餐饮
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因为我们能帮助人们理解
12:29
in the first place地点.
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人类是如何感知食物的。
12:31
Which哪一个 we know surprisingly出奇 little about.
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这点我们知之甚少。
12:34
For example, we know
that there are those five basic基本 tastes口味,
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比如,我们知道最基本的五种味道,
12:37
but we strongly非常 suspect疑似
that there are more,
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但并不知道还有更多的味道,
12:40
and in fact事实, using运用 our EEG脑电图 setup建立,
we found发现 evidence证据 that fat脂肪,
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事实上,利用脑电图,我们发现
12:45
besides除了 being存在 sensed感应
by its texture质地 and smell,
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脂肪,除了它的气味和质地,
12:47
is also tasted.
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也是有味道的。
12:49
Meaning含义 that fat脂肪 could be
this new sixth第六 basic基本 taste味道.
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也就是说我们有了第六种基本味道,
12:53
And if we figure数字 out
how our brain recognizes识别 fat脂肪 and sugar,
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并且如果我们能知道大脑
是如何识别脂肪和糖分的话,
12:57
and I'm just dreaming做梦 here,
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做个比方,
12:59
but could we then one day
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那是不是意味着有朝一日,
13:00
create创建 a milkshake奶昔 with zero calories卡路里
that tastes口味 just like the real真实 deal合同?
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我们能制造出零卡路里的“原味”奶昔?
13:06
Or maybe we figure数字 out that we can't,
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或许我们能知道我们做不到,
13:09
because we subconsciously下意识 detect检测 calories卡路里
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因为潜意识中检测卡路里的感知器
13:11
via通过 our receptors受体
in our gastrointestinal胃肠道 tract管道.
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是胃肠道。
13:15
The future未来 will show显示.
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未来我们会得到更加清晰的结论。
13:17
Our conscious意识 experience经验 of food餐饮
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我们对食物的有意识经历
13:20
is just the tip小费 of the iceberg冰山
of our total sensation感觉 of food餐饮.
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只是我们对食物感知的冰山一角。
13:25
And by studying研究 this total sensation感觉,
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通过研究全面感知,
13:28
conscious意识 and subconscious潜意识 alike一样,
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不管有意识还是潜意识的,
13:31
I truly believe that we can make
tastier美味 and healthier健康 foods食品 for all.
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我认为我们都可以为人类
创造美味又健康的食物。
13:35
Thank you.
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谢谢。
13:36
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Xiaowei Dong

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Camilla Arndal Andersen - Neuroscientist
Instead of asking them what they think, Camilla Arndal Andersen covers her subjects in sensors to reveal their unfiltered and subconscious response to food.

Why you should listen

Tapping into the subconsciousness, Camilla Arndal Andersen has found evidence that the brain registers even the smallest taste differences. Her work has also found evidence that fat could be a new sixth basic taste -- seemingly registered by its taste, in addition to its texture and smell.

Arndal Andersen performs these experiments at her lab in Brabrand, Denmark, and as a scientist at DuPont Nutrition and Biosciences ApS. She does it with the ultimate goal to understand how our brain registers sugar and fat, to engineer healthier food without compromising taste.

More profile about the speaker
Camilla Arndal Andersen | Speaker | TED.com