Is Perception of Sucrose and Caffeine Affected by Training or Experience? Monitoring Training Effects in Female Subjects over a Half-Year Period

The study focuses on potential differences between trained and untrained female subjects with regard to their ability to recognize sweet and bitter. Seventy-six European female students (mean age 22.1) were recruited. They were randomly classified into a control group (n=35) and an intervention group (n=41), who were trained. Matching test, intensity testing, and threshold measurements were conducted for all and quantified at t0 (baseline), t1 (after intervention), and t2 (6 months after intervention). The intervention group's performance was enhanced after training: Panelists tended to match more taste samples correctly. Bitter samples were matched better at t1 in comparison with t0. Intensity of sweet and bitter samples was rated higher after intervention, too. The performance was reproduced at t2. Threshold results were ambiguous. Intervention increased the ability to detect tastes. However, in the control group, the recognition thresholds were improved during repeated testing (t1 and t2). The intervention group's performance in perception of sweet and bitter increased because of training. The performance in the control group also improved while the subjects gained experience over the course of the three testing sessions.