Brain scans show music changes how we taste sweet and sour

When music reaches the ears at the same moment as a sip of coffee or a bite of lunch, the brain responds more strongly than when taste is experienced alone. That is the central finding of a new study from the Department of Food Science at the University of Copenhagen, published in the journal Scientific Reports. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, the researchers showed for the first time with brain imaging that music can activate some of the same brain regions involved in processing taste, offering direct biological evidence for a phenomenon that until now had only been observed through behavioural experiments.

The research team, led by first author Alberte Baggesgaard Seeberg and senior author Janice Wang, measured brain activity in twenty-eight participants while they lay in a scanner. Participants alternated between listening to music, tasting flavour solutions made from sugar and citric acid, and experiencing both at the same time. This design allowed the researchers to compare how the brain responds to sound and taste separately and in combination. In the resulting scans, yellow and orange regions marked areas that responded more strongly when music and taste were paired, including areas involved in processing taste and sensory signals from the mouth.

According to Seeberg, the imaging approach marks a significant advance over earlier methods. Previous studies of music and taste relied on asking participants to rate flavours with and without music, an approach that captures subjective reports but not the underlying neural activity. With brain scans, the researchers gained what Seeberg describes as a biological window into what happens when the senses interact. The technique detects changes in blood flow across different parts of the brain, allowing activity to be mapped while the stimuli are actually presented rather than reconstructed afterwards from ratings alone.

The results support a view of flavour that many food scientists have long argued for: flavour is not simply a property of food, but an experience constructed by the brain. As Wang puts it, what determines flavour is not limited to what happens on the tongue. It emerges through the integration of multiple senses. The new findings build on previous behavioural research showing that music can enhance particular taste perceptions, a phenomenon known as sonic seasoning. Slow pop music with harmonious tones, for example, has been found to enhance sweetness in earlier studies. What is new in the Copenhagen work is that this effect has now been linked to direct measurements of brain activity.

The study was published on 11 June 2026 under the title Music–taste interactions enhance gustatory and sensorimotor brain activity. The brain imaging results clearly showed that certain brain regions were more active when participants listened to music while tasting one of the two flavour solutions. Specifically, music associated with sweetness paired with a sweet taste, and music associated with sourness paired with a sour taste, produced stronger responses in taste-related and sensorimotor brain areas than either stimulus presented alone. Although flavour solutions were used in this study, the researchers expect similar results with real foods that taste sweet or sour.

The practical implications extend beyond the laboratory. According to the researchers, the new knowledge could be used to design better eating experiences in a range of settings, including restaurants, canteens and hospitals. Seeberg points out that for people at risk of malnutrition, something as simple as music could potentially improve the eating experience. There is a great deal that can be done, often at very little cost, to improve quality of life for some people, she notes.

Wang, who has spent many years researching flavour and sensory perception, welcomed the fact that the team can now present biological evidence of how the senses interact. The team now has a new way of influencing flavour perception, creating a better meal experience and potentially a better overall experience, without necessarily changing the food itself, she says.

The researchers are careful to note the limits of the current study. The twenty-eight participants represent a relatively small sample, and the team suggests that future studies should include a larger and more diverse group, since factors such as age and cultural background may influence the associations people make between music and taste. Replicating the findings with real foods, rather than flavour solutions, is another natural next step for the field.

Even with those caveats, the study adds a neural foundation to what had been a purely behavioural literature. It has long been known that music can alter the perception of flavour, and the new brain scans support previous research in the field. The findings show that what we hear can influence how the brain processes what we taste. For a science that has traditionally focused on the chemistry of food, the message from Copenhagen is clear: flavour lives in the brain, and the brain listens.

Subject of Research: Neural basis of music–taste interactions in human flavour perception measured with fMRI

Article Title: Music can enhance the flavour of your food

Article References: Music can enhance the flavour of your food. Original publication (Bibliographic details unavailable.)

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: Not provided

Keywords: flavour perception, sonic seasoning, fMRI, multisensory integration, gustatory cortex, University of Copenhagen, Scientific Reports, sweet taste, sour taste, brain imaging, sensory science, music and taste