Document Type
Article
Department/Program
Psychology
Journal Title
Current Nutrition Reports
Pub Date
6-2017
Volume
6
First Page
141
Abstract
Purpose of Review
To highlight the range of methodological approaches used to objectively measure hedonic responses to taste stimuli during the first year of life and how these behavioral responses change with experience. Challenges inherent to this type of research are discussed.
Recent Findings
Although newborns display characteristic orofacial reactivity to four of the five basic tastes, the facial expressions made and the amount of food consumed can be modified by experience: children learn to like what they are fed. In some cases, changes in facial responses are concordant with infant consumption, whereas in other cases facial reactivity follows changes in intake.
Summary
Together with ingestive measurements, precise and objective measurements of orofacial reactivity provide an understanding of how early experiences shift the hedonic tone of the taste of foods, the foundation of dietary preferences.
Recommended Citation
Forestell, Catherine A. and Mennella, Julie A., The Relationship Between Infant Facial Expressions and Food Acceptance (2017). Current Nutrition Reports, 6, 141-147.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-017-0205-y
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-017-0205-y
