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Is perceptual learning generalisable in the chemical senses? A longitudinal pilot study based on a naturalistic blind wine tasting training scenario

  • Original Research
  • Published:
Chemosensory Perception

Abstract

Introduction

A growing body of research has demonstrated differences in perceptual, conceptual, and language abilities between wine experts and novices. However, it is unclear to what extent these differences are innate or acquired through training. The present study assessed the olfactory and gustatory performance of a group of university blind wine tasters before and after training. Previous research has shown that this training regimen significantly improves blind tasting accuracy, but it remains unknown whether perceptual learning from blind tasting training is generalisable to standard tests of olfactory/gustatory ability.

Methods

Two testing sessions were carried out for the training group (N = 14) as well as for a control group (N = 12) before and after a 5-week training period. In each session, participants underwent olfactory threshold, discrimination, and identification assessments as well as a gustatory sensitivity test.

Results

Olfactory discrimination significantly improved in the training group over the 5-week period, and the training group outperformed controls in olfactory identification in both sessions.

Conclusions

Based on our limited set of data, wine training seems to have improved olfactory discrimination, even though the method of training did not involve odorants used in the discrimination test itself.

Implications

These results reveal that even wine training over a short period seems to make concrete changes to olfactory performance, supporting the idea that generalised perceptual learning can take place for odour discrimination.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank members of the Oxford University Blind Tasting Society for their support and participation in the research.

Funding

This work has been supported by an AUFF starting grant from Aarhus University received by the first author. The last author was partly funded by Arla and Central Region Denmark.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science, Aarhus University, Agro Food Park 48, 8200, Aarhus, Denmark

    Qian Janice Wang

  2. Center for Music in the Brain (MIB), Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Henrique M. Fernandes

  3. Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Henrique M. Fernandes & Alexander W. Fjaeldstad

  4. Flavour Institute, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Henrique M. Fernandes & Alexander W. Fjaeldstad

  5. Department of Otolaryngology, Holstebro Regional Hospital, Holstebro, Denmark

    Alexander W. Fjaeldstad

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  1. Qian Janice Wang
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  2. Henrique M. Fernandes
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  3. Alexander W. Fjaeldstad
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Correspondence to Qian Janice Wang.

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Wang, Q.J., Fernandes, H.M. & Fjaeldstad, A.W. Is perceptual learning generalisable in the chemical senses? A longitudinal pilot study based on a naturalistic blind wine tasting training scenario. Chem. Percept. 14, 64–74 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-020-09284-x

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