Put simply, neurogastronomy is the study of how brain perceives flavour. As the name suggests it is a branch of neuroscience which is concerned with gastronomy, so, rather than being a somewhat inaccessible and cerebral sort of science, it can be experienced directly in our kitchens and at our tables.
We might think that we experience flavour in our mouths, but it is so very much more than that. Flavour is truly a multisensory phenomenon. It is created from synergistic interactions between our physical senses — sight, smell, taste, hearing and touch — and when these combined sensory signals are interpreted in our brain as ‘flavours’, there is a direct impact on our emotions, thoughts and behaviour.