A study of hedonism could conceivably operate on a massive scale. This book, however, concentrates specifically on the hedonics of taste. The editor notes some important reasons for limiting the argument in this manner. First of all, this is an area of hedonics in which a handful of experimenters continued to do research during a period when hedonism might have been lost altogether. Secondly, the past ten years have seen quite a number of researchers turn their attention to taste preferences, and so it seems appropriate to celebrate the fact that new findings can be incorporated into a very old conceptual framework: the ancient concept of hedonism. The contributors approach their subject from many different angles. Historical, conceptual, and methodological chapters are presented; developmental aspects, psychological substrates, and the social considerations of hedonics are discussed. This volume offers viewpoints from dataphiles and theorists, mechanists and cognitivists, unifiers and disrupters -- a diversity that reflects the vital state of psychology today.

A study of hedonism could conceivably operate on a massive scale. This book, however, concentrates specifically on the hedonics of taste. The editor notes some important reasons for limiting the argument in this manner. First of all, this is an area of hedonics in which a handful of experimenters continued to do research during a period when hedonism might have been lost altogether. Secondly, the past ten years have seen quite a number of researchers turn their attention to taste preferences, and so it seems appropriate to celebrate the fact that new findings can be incorporated into a very old conceptual framework: the ancient concept of hedonism. The contributors approach their subject from many different angles. Historical, conceptual, and methodological chapters are presented; developmental aspects, psychological substrates, and the social considerations of hedonics are discussed. This volume offers viewpoints from dataphiles and theorists, mechanists and cognitivists, unifiers and disrupters -- a diversity that reflects the vital state of psychology today.

Conditioned taste aversion (CTA) is a robust defence device protecting animals against repeated consumption of toxic food. It is characterised by the ability of many animals to learn to avoid certain substances by their sight, smell, or taste after experiencing an unpleasant or harmful reaction to them. CTA is encountered at all levels of evolution, with similar forms of food aversion learning found in vertebrate and invertebrate species whose ancestral lines diverged more than 500 million years ago. CTA has a number of unusual properties contrasting sharply with the basic assumptions of traditional learning theories, which has brought it increasingly to the attention of neurobiologists interested in neural plasticity. In CTA, the usual time parameters between stimulus and aversion are relaxed considerably, frequently with delays of hours rather than seconds. Moreover, the critical stage of CTA acquisition may proceed under deep anaesthesia incompatible with other forms of learning. In the past decade several pivotal discoveries have considerably avanced our understanding of the neural processes underlying CTA, and opened new possibilities for their analysis at the molecular and cellular levels. This book, written by three of the world's leading researchers in the subject, comprehensively reviews the current state of research into conditioned taste aversion. The first book of its kind to provide an up-to-date summary of research into the neuroanatomy, pharmacology, electrophysiology, and functional morphology of CTA, it will be welcomed by all researchers and graduate students in the field.

Food may be nutritious, visually appealing and easy to prepare but if it does not possess desirable flavors, it will not be consumed. Food Flavors and Chemistry: Advances of the New Millennium primarily focuses on food flavors and their use in foods. Coverage also includes other important topics in food chemistry and production such as analytical methods, packaging, storage, safety and patents. Positive flavor notes are described, including ways of enhancing them in food. Conversely, methods for eliminating and reducing undesirable flavors are also proposed. Packaging aspects of foods, with respect to controlling sensory attributes, appearance and microbiological safety are discussed in detail. There is also a section concentrating on the most recent developments in dairy flavor chemistry. This book will be an important read for all postgraduate students, academics and industrial researchers wanting to keep abreast of food flavors and their chemistry.