food, supplements, medicine, behavior • life as a human

His study, involving a total of 388 male and female patrons of an on-campus bar with an offer to taste-test three kinds of beer, illustrated that he could influence their taste preferences depending on how and when he told them what the secret ingredient was in one of them.

That secret ingredient was balsamic vinegar. The expected reaction would naturally be one of distaste before any beer was sampled.

The beer that contained the vinegar was “MIT Beer”, a beer that could reasonably instill some sense of pride no matter what it tasted like. In a blind taste-test, about 60 percent of the subjects actually preferred it.

A second group of subjects were told which beer was the balsamic-laden version only after they had tasted all three, but before they had stated their preferences. Again, about 60 percent preferred the taste of the MIT Beer.

When a third group of subjects were told beforehand which beer contained the balsamic vinegar, only thirty percent approved of it.

Dr. Lee stated, the study showed that the experience of taste involved not only the sensation of a blend of ingredients, but also the “top-down” influence of expectations. Previous research with brain imaging had shown that expectations could change the trace of activity of people’s brains when tasting drinks.

As mentioned in the New York Times report of the study, expectations of taste can be influenced as simply as, “try it, you’ll like it”.

Knowing the Ingredients Can Change the Taste [via nytimes.com]

As men reach middle-age they gradually produce less testosterone. Called andropause, it’s a more subtle, hormonal process than women experience through menopause.

Studies show, however, that for those men who had put on as little as 30 pounds of weight for a 6-foot man, they lost as much testosterone as if they had aged 10 years. This would lead them prematurely to osteoporosis, sexual dysfunction and mood disturbances which are common with low levels of testosterone.

For overweight, teenage girls the opposite is true. Researchers at the University of Virginia found that obese girls had two to nine times the level of testosterone than girls of normal weight. This condition is referred to as hyperandrogenemia.

Childhood obesity, a national epidemic, is normally associated with abnormal glucose metabolism, high blood pressure and cholesterol problems, all of which increase the risk of eventual cardiovascular disease in later life.

For obese, teenage girls additional, elevated testosterone levels are associated with menstrual and reproductive irregularities, potential, undesirable side-effects such as excessive, facial hair growth (hirsutism), as well as a greater risk of diabetes.

Obese men, girls see unusual testosterone levels [via reuters.com]

And she fervently believed that she was pregnant. An earlier pregnancy test might even have validated her belief, based on blood-hormone levels.

False pregnancy, or pseudocyesis, is a rare phenomenon that baffles and even initially fools some doctors. All signs of pregnancy are there except that there are no heart tones from the fetus, no fetus visible on an ultrasound, and of course, no delivery of a baby. Not restricted to humans, it has also been viewed in dogs where it’s actually more common.

While psychiatrists may speculate that false pregnancy arises from a women’s deep desire to be pregnant, or to be more fully involved in the pregnancy of someone she knows, there are biological studies that suggest a hormonal cause as well. There aren’t many large-scale studies to refer to but many women who exhibit this condition also have high levels of the female hormones, estrogen and prolactin. This would explain physical symptoms like abdominal swelling, milk excretion, as well as psychological ones such as wanting to bond with a baby.

There may be a mind-body link to pseudocyesis in that an initial, intense, emotional need or state influences hormone secretion which in turn produces the desired symptoms of pregnancy.

There’s a long history of the rare pseudocyesis with further examples available from:
All the Signs of Pregnancy Except One: A Baby [via nytimes.com]