U2 AoS2 DP5 Gustatory Fallibility

Emma and Grace shared a bowl of chicken soup. Thinking it needed a touch of lemon, Grace accidentally squeezed in more than was needed. Now finding it too sour, Grace couldn't continue her meal. However, Emma was unphased and finished the soup off without noticing much of a difference.

Which of the following best explains the difference in taste perception of the chicken soup?

• Grace is more sensitive to sour tastes because she is a supertaster, while Emma is not

• Emma enjoys sour foods more than Grace, which is why she didn't mind the extra lemon

• Grace has more taste buds than Emma, making her more sensitive to the lemon's sourness

• Emma has a reduced sense of taste, which is why she didn't notice the added sourness

After the taste buds send electrochemical signals about a flavour, which part of the brain is primarily responsible for processing this information?

• Auditory cortex

• Somatosensory cortex

• Gustatory cortex

• Limbic system

Oscar was eating what he thought was a slice of chocolate cake. Expecting it to be sweet, he took a big bite, only to find that it tasted salty and slightly green (veggie infused) instead. Jamie was confused and thought the cake was spoiled, but it turns out the cake was a creative recipe that combined chocolate, zucchini, and sea salt. Which of the following best explains this?

• Oscar did not process any of the cake's flavour as he was thinking about the deception

• Oscar's tastebuds were anticipating the sweet receptors to be activated due to his awareness of the chocolate cake

• Oscar had a fallible gustatory perception based on prior experience

• Oscar is a supertaster and could taste the zucchini and salt due to an excess of tastebuds

Which of the following best describes how our prior experience with food can influence our perception of its flavour?

• Our taste perception is always accurate and never influenced by past experience

• Taste perception is entirely random and unrelated to prior experiences with food

• Prior experience only affects our perception of sweet foods, and no other flavour

• Our brain often correctly perceives food flavours based on prior experience, but mistakes can occur

Which of the following best describes a supertaster's perception of taste compared to a non-taster?

• Supertasters have fewer taste buds, resulting in less intense taste experiences

• Supertasters and non-tasters experience flavours with the same intensity

• Supertasters have more taste buds and taste receptors, making them perceive flavour more intensely

• Non-tasters have a higher taste sensitivity more than supertasters

Which of the following best describes the function of miraculin found in the miracle berry?

• It is a taste modifier that changes the perceived quality of sour foods to taste sweet

• It is a natural sweetener that makes all foods taste sweet

• It is a protein that enhances the intensity of sour tastes

• It is a chemical that blocks bitter taste receptors, making sour foods taste less intense

Eliza was curious about a new fruit she'd heard about called the "miracle berry." After eating the berry, she drank a glass of lemon juice, which she normally finds extremely sour. To her surprise, the lemon juice tasted sweet. What caused Eliza to perceive the lemon juice as sweet after consuming the miracle berry?

• The miraculin in the berry directly activated her sweet taste receptors

• The miraculin in the berry temporarily modified her taste perception, turning the sour taste into a sweet one

• The miracle berry contains high levels of natural sugars, making everything taste sweeter

• The berry numbed her taste buds, dulling the sourness of the lemon juice

Harry decided to test the effects of miraculin by eating a miracle berry before trying a grapefruit. Normally, he finds grapefruit to be very bitter and slightly sour. After eating the berry, he noticed that the grapefruit tasted much sweeter, though the bitterness remained.

What explains why Harry's perception of the grapefruit changed after consuming the miracle berry?

• The miraculin made the sourness of the grapefruit taste sweet, but did not affect the bitterness

• The miraculin made the sourness of the grapefruit taste sweet, but did not affect the bitterness

• The miraculin masked both the bitterness and sourness of the grapefruit

• The miraculin added a sweet taste to the grapefruit, overriding all other flavours

Which of the following statements best describes how miraculin works at a molecular level?

• • Miraculin is permanently bound to sweet taste receptors, altering taste perception indefinitely

• • Miraculin only activates sweet taste receptors in the presence of bitter foods

• • Miraculin binds to bitter taste receptors, blocking the perception of bitterness

• • Miraculin binds to sweet taste receptors and activates them in a sour or acidic environment

What does miraculin do when it interacts with sour or acidic foods?

• Changes the chemical composition of sour foods to make them sweet

• Increases the sour taste by making sour receptors more sensitive

• Binds to sweet receptors on the tongue in acidic conditions make the food taste sweet

• Neutralises acidic foods, making them less sour without changing taste receptors