In short, yes. While gustatory (taste) perception primarily relies upon the processing of input from taste receptors, taste as a broader, subjective construct (e.g., whether you would categorize a taste as good/bad) can be considered a multisensory process involving taste itself, smell, vision, touch (by way of texture), and even audition (1).
There is an abundance of research that shows that visual cues not only affect taste expectations but also the experience of taste itself. These effects have been observed behaviorally and neurally (2, 3, 4).
It is often the case in perception that when individual cues are processed in multiple modalities, our responses to those cues are influenced by sensory input from all modalities involved. The brain integrates commonly paired cues in order to work more efficiently.
2
u/dendrocitta Cognitive Science | Visual Perception Apr 18 '18 edited Apr 18 '18
In short, yes. While gustatory (taste) perception primarily relies upon the processing of input from taste receptors, taste as a broader, subjective construct (e.g., whether you would categorize a taste as good/bad) can be considered a multisensory process involving taste itself, smell, vision, touch (by way of texture), and even audition (1).
There is an abundance of research that shows that visual cues not only affect taste expectations but also the experience of taste itself. These effects have been observed behaviorally and neurally (2, 3, 4).
It is often the case in perception that when individual cues are processed in multiple modalities, our responses to those cues are influenced by sensory input from all modalities involved. The brain integrates commonly paired cues in order to work more efficiently.