Chapter 7- Basic Learning Processes and Eating Behaviors

• Other likes and dislikes, or modifications to innate preferences and aversions, are shaped by experience (i.e., learning)

  
  

  sweet & salty foods- high energy

  salty- sodium-rich

  bitter- toxins

  sour- associated with spoiled quality
• Food aversion is more likely if the food is novel, less preferred, distinct, and/or unusual
• Scapegoat flavor can benefit cancer patients
• Ways to increase a food/flavor preference:

  -medicine effect

  -mere exposure

  -flavor-flavor associative learning

  -flavor-nutrient associative learning
• Animals and humans learn preferences for food that makes us feel good; associated with recovery and deficiency
• Examples of foods we associate with recovery: chicken noodle soup, orange juice,
• Mere exposure- consuming a safe food repeatedly increases preference

  Ex: sushi
• Flavor-flavor associative learning- pairing two flavors together leads to liking both flavors (ex: chocolate covered strawberries)
• Flavor-nutrient associative learning- eating a nutrient along with a certain taste leads to liking that taste (ex: salted pretzels)
• Kool-Aid Experiment:

  -rats were exposed to 2 kool-aid flavors (grape and cherry)

  -licking the CS+ flavor delivers calories to the rat

  -licking the CS- flavor delivers infusion of water

  -Rats developed preference for CS+ flavor and continued to like the flavor for the rest of their life
• Sclafani demonstrated learning occurs with fat or protein infusions too.
• Flavor-calorie learning is the idea that we learn to associate foods with a certain amount of calories

  • children can be conditioned to prefer tastes associated with calories
  • new flavors in children preferred more calories compared to foods with lesser calories
• Dilute vs. calorie-dense milkshake experiment: Participants consumed their "norm" amount regardless of caloric density

  • Indicated that satiety is learned
• What factors determine when we are hungry?

  • Time of day (ex: lunch)
  • Associations (ex: room of house, Netflix, mood, light and buzzer with rats)
  • contextual cues
• Sherbert and Adrenaline = improved immune system activity in patients

  • After several pairings, consumption of Sherbert alone boosts immune system
• Why is the hippocampus important in food learning?

  • Needed for formation of memories; protects us from eating bad foods
  • Ex: amnesic patients
• Why is the amygdala important in food learning?

  • Reward pathway is important for preference
  • reinforces behavior; makes us want the food/drink again
  • increases joy and pleasure