Neuroscience and Behavior
Undergraduate and Graduate Lecture
Tu Th 1:10-2:25PM
This course will provide an introduction to how humans decide what foods to include in their diet. First, we will examine the sensory systems that evaluate food—vision, olfaction, taste, olfaction, somatosensation and intestinal chemosensation. Second, we will study how the brain integrates inputs from these sensory systems to create flavor perceptions. Third, we will consider what is known about the evolution of the human flavor system. Fourth, we will examine the development of food processing and preparation techniques. Fifth, we will examine the diet of extant hunter-gatherer societies. Sixth, we will investigate how genetics and environment factors (e.g., early dietary experience, nutritional status and culture) interact to shape diet. Finally, we will investigate the functional consequences of the human flavor system to nutrition, health and the future of food.
Link to Vergil
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