QUALITATIVE EVALUATION OF TASTE STIMULI BY CROSS-MODALITY MATCHING WITH A COLOR SYSTEM - AN EXPLORATORY-STUDY

The taste qualify of 27 stimuli equi-intense to 100 mM NaCl was descri bed by 10 subjects using cross-modality matching with Munsell colors. Subjects were instructed to use one color for each perceived taste qua lity. An initial set of 9 stimuli covering the range of taste qualitie s was used by the subjects to build their own spectrum of colors to ma tch taste qualities. Subjects then used their system to describe the q uality of 18 sweet and/or bitter stimuli. All subjects were able to de velop and consistently use Munsell colors to describe taste qualify. T his psychophysical method for taste description could allow for a bett er discrimination among taste stimuli than the traditional use of five adjectives. Three-dimensional plots in L, a, b coordinates of the col or spaces produced by the subjects suggest sweetness and bitterness ma y not be unitary qualities and that semantics may nor be sufficient to describe taste quality.