The psychophysics of taste from the entropy of the stimulus

During the process of perceiving a steady taste stimulus, information is received, or (information) entropy is reduced. A single equation, the entropy equation, relates three fundamental variables—magnitude estimate, stimulus intensity, and stimulus duration. From this single equation, we can derive, in principle, all psychophysical relations for a steady taste stimulus, involving these three variables only. A number of examples are given. The Stevens exponent for taste is derived theoretically for certain experimental conditions, using statistical mechanics. Weber’s constant is derived in terms of the information transmitted per taste stimulus. The concept of a “surface of perception” is introduced.

[1]  Masayasu Satō,et al.  Neural Coding in Taste as Seen from Recordings from Peripheral Receptors and Nerves , 1971 .

[2]  S. S. Stevens.  Sensory scales of taste intensity , 1969 .

[3]  J. Kirkwood,et al.  Light Scattering Arising from Composition Fluctuations in Multi‐Component Systems , 1950 .

[4]  K. Norwich.  To perceive is to doubt: the relativity of perception. , 1983, Journal of theoretical biology.

[5]  G. Ekman.  Weber's Law and Related Functions , 1959 .

[6]  John C. Baird,et al.  Fundamentals of scaling and psychophysics , 1978 .

[7]  Karl M. Dallenbach,et al.  Gustatory Adaptation to Salt , 1937 .

[8]  L. M. Beidler,et al.  Taste Receptor Stimulation with Salts and Acids , 1971 .

[9]  G Borg,et al.  The relation between neural and perceptual intensity: a comparative study on the neural and psychophysical response to taste stimuli , 1967, The Journal of physiology.

[10]  Joel E. Cohen,et al.  Information Theory and Esthetic Perception , 1969 .

[11]  L. Hurvich,et al.  Differential Gustatory Sensitivity to Salt , 1937 .

[12]  M. S. Rogers,et al.  Transmission of Information About Sucrose and Saline Solutions Through the Sense of Taste , 1955 .

[13]  G. A. Miller,et al.  Sensitivity to Changes in the Intensity of White Noise and Its Relation to Masking and Loudness , 1947 .

[14]  K H Norwich,et al.  On the information received by sensory receptors. , 1977, Bulletin of mathematical biology.

[15]  L. Hurvich,et al.  On the psychophysics of taste. I. Pressure and area as variants. , 1938 .

[16]  H. Meiselman,et al.  Magnitude production and magnitude estimation of taste intensity , 1972 .

[17]  W. H. Atkinson.  A general equation for sensory magnitude , 1982, Perception & psychophysics.

[18]  K. Norwich.  The magical number seven: Making a “bit” of “sense” , 1981, Perception & psychophysics.

[19]  J. Gent,et al.  Time course of gustatory adaptation , 1978, Perception & psychophysics.

[20]  J C Baird,et al.  A cognitive theory of psychophysics. I. Information transmission, partitioning, and Weber's Law. , 1970, Scandinavian journal of psychology.

[21]  John F. Corso,et al.  The experimental psychology of sensory behavior , 1970 .

[22]  Kenneth H. Norwich,et al.  Perception as an active process , 1982 .

[23]  R. Tolman,et al.  The Principles of Statistical Mechanics. By R. C. Tolman. Pp. xix, 661. 40s. 1938. International series of monographs on physics. (Oxford) , 1939, The Mathematical Gazette.

[24]  L. M. Beidler,et al.  A THEORY OF TASTE STIMULATION , 1954, The Journal of general physiology.

[25]  J C Baird,et al.  A cognitive theory of psychophysics. II. Fechner's Law and Stevens' Law. , 1970, Scandinavian journal of psychology.

[26]  S. S. Stevens.  A scale for the measurement of a psychological magnitude: loudness. , 1936 .