A review of brain signal analysis in food perception studies

Abstract

Food perception is more than just taste. It is a multisensory experience shaped by smell, texture, and even how the food looks. The human brain works to make sense of all these signals, influencing everything from cravings to food choices. This review looks at more than 40 studies that used electroencephalography (EEG) and other brainwave analysis tools to understand how to process food related stimuli. In order to identify patterns associated with attention, mood, and appetite, these studies looked at brain responses using techniques including event related potentials (ERPs) and spectral analysis. Current research shows that human desire for food, level of focus on it, and the feelings it evokes are all correlated with certain brain signals. However, majority of the studies investigated individual senses in isolation and focused on basic taste attributes such as sweet, salty, or bitter. The complexity of eating in real life, where several senses interact, is missed by this. Furthermore, a lot of research is lab based, short term, and does not represent real world situations. Future research must adopt practical, multimodal methods in order to fully understand how humans perceive food. Such studies could help improve food design, predict consumer behavior, and even support interventions for eating disorders.