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Preferring one taste over another without recognizing either

Nature Neuroscience volume 8, pages 860–861 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Stimuli can be discriminated without being consciously perceived and can be preferred without being remembered. Here we report a subject with a previously unknown dissociation of abilities: a strong behavioral preference for the taste of sugar over saline, despite a complete failure of recognition. The pattern of brain damage responsible for the dissociation suggests that reliable behavioral choice among tastes can occur in the absence of the gustatory cortex necessary for taste recognition.

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Figure 1: The brain of subject B.

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Acknowledgements

Supported by US National Institute of Mental Health grant MH067681 and US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke grant P01 NS 19632.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology and Neuroscience Graduate Program, The University of Iowa, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, 52242, Iowa, USA

    Ralph Adolphs, Daniel Tranel, Michael Koenigs & Antonio R Damasio

  2. Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, 91125, California, USA

    Ralph Adolphs

Authors
  1. Ralph Adolphs
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  2. Daniel Tranel
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  3. Michael Koenigs
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  4. Antonio R Damasio
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Correspondence to Ralph Adolphs.

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Adolphs, R., Tranel, D., Koenigs, M. et al. Preferring one taste over another without recognizing either. Nat Neurosci 8, 860–861 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1489

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