Development of taste perception in humans: Sensitivity and preference throughout the life span.

There is a need to employ measurement techniques that are minimally affected by developmental changes in attention, motivation, and other nonsensory factors and increased investigative effort should be directed toward the study of possible developmentalChanges in suprathreshol d perception.

Abstract

The literature relating to the development of taste sensitivity and preference in humans is critically reviewed. Characterization of the sensitivities and preferences of children and the elderly, relative to those of young adults, is of both theoretical and practical importance. Nonetheless, the former age groups have been neglected in psychophysica l investigations. There is a need to employ measurement techniques that are minimally affected by developmental changes in attention, motivation, and other nonsensory factors. In addition, increased investigative effort should be directed toward the study of possible developmental changes in suprathreshol d perception. Finally, preferences for taste qualities should not be characterized in terms of averaged, positive or negative responses. Rather, individual functions relating degree of preference to tastant concentration should be examined. In their extensive 1970 review of sensory and perceptual development, Pick and Pick stated that at that time there had been no developmental investigations of taste sensitivity. Although not strictly accurate, their contention reflected the paucity of work in this area and the fact that the few studies which had been published were limited in both scope and impact. The past decade has seen a tremendous increase in work in the field of gustatory development, together with improvements in psychophysica l methodology and the development of measurement techniques that may be successfully applied to infants and young children. Impetus to this activity has been provided by the growing concern with diet and nutrition and the recognition of the role that taste sensitivity and preferences must play in the establishment of dietary patterns. The present article reviews the literature