TED演講者：Jen Gunter / Jen Gunter

演講標題：How your sense of smell helps you savor flavor / 你的嗅覺如何讓你品嘗出味道

內(nèi)容概要：Eating pizza with a stuffy nose just isn't as satisfying -- and there's a reason for that. Dr. Jen Gunter explains how our ability to smell and taste work together to give us a full sensory experience. So whether you're sniffing the caramelized aroma of coffee, a whiff of trash or a trillion other things, your brain knows exactly what's under your nose. (For more on how your body works, tune in to her podcast, Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter, from the TED Audio Collective.)

鼻塞的時候吃披薩可不那么令人愉悅，這是有道理的。珍·甘特（Jen Gunter）醫(yī)生解釋了我們的嗅覺和味覺如何一起給我們帶來全方位感官體驗。無論你聞了聞咖啡的焦糖味、垃圾的惡臭還是一萬億種別的東西，你的大腦清楚地知道你在聞些什么。想知道更多你身體的事，關(guān)注珍·甘特醫(yī)生的播客 Body Stuff，來自 TED 音頻合集。

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【1】In a recent survey, a majority of respondents picked their sense of smell as the one they'd be most willing to give up among the traditional five senses.

最近的一個調(diào)查表明 大多數(shù)的受訪者表示 在五官之中 如果要放棄其中一個的話, 他們會選擇嗅覺。

【2】But if you love food, you should be giving your nose much more credit.

但是如果你熱愛美食, 你就該更重視你的嗅覺。

【3】Because it’s actually our sense of smell that plays a huge role in our ability to process flavor.

因為其實我們的嗅覺 對我們品嘗味道的能力至關(guān)重要。

【4】[Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter] First, let's talk about how smell works, from coffee to stinky trash.

[珍·甘特（Jen Gunter）醫(yī)生的 Body Stuff 欄目] 首先,我來介紹一下 氣味是如何運作的, 有咖啡香,也有垃圾的臭味。

【5】The substances around us give off volatiles, which you can think of as tiny smell molecules.

我們身邊的物質(zhì)釋放著易揮發(fā)物, 你可以將其想象成 微小的氣味分子。

【6】We breathe in these smell molecules, which then stimulate the olfactory sensory neurons that sit high in the nose.

我們吸入了這些氣味分子, 然后它們會刺激位于 鼻腔上部的嗅覺神經(jīng)元。

【7】Each of these neurons contains an odor receptor on its surface.

每一個神經(jīng)元表面 都有一個嗅覺受體。

【8】Once the odor receptors are triggered by these smell molecules, the neurons send information about them to the brain.

嗅覺受體一受到 氣味分子的激發(fā), 神經(jīng)元就會將相關(guān)信息 發(fā)送給大腦。

【9】Here's what I think is so cool.

我要分享很酷的一點。

【10】The brain not only categorizes that information as a particular odor, it may also begin to associate feelings, like pleasure or disgust and other moods and emotions with that odor for future reference.

大腦不僅會將這個信息 認定為一種特定的氣味, 還會聯(lián)系情感, 比如高興、惡心或者 其他與這種氣味有關(guān)的情緒, 供之后使用。

【11】For example, you sniff bacon, you eat it, your taste buds get salt, and then your body gets a whack of fat, which is an energy source.

比如,你聞了聞培根,把它吃了, 你的味蕾嘗到了鹽, 你的身體得到了一大坨脂肪, 也就是能量的來源。

【12】So the brain loves it and attaches a positive label to it.

所以大腦很喜歡培根, 給它貼上了一個正向的標簽。

【13】The next time you smell bacon, a sensation associated with pleasure arises.

下次你聞到培根的時候, 一股喜悅之情就會油然而生。

【14】Now, there are a lot of smells out there, more than our 400 or so odor receptors can detect.

世界上有很多種氣味, 比我們的嗅覺受體可以檢測多余 400 種左右的氣味。

【15】But people with a healthy working sense of smell have odor receptors that can combine to detect anywhere between 10,000 to more than a trillion different odors.

但是嗅覺靈敏的人的 嗅覺受體可以總共 檢測一萬至 超過一萬億種不同的氣味。

【16】Now, taste is completely different.

味覺就完全不同了。

【17】It comes from taste receptors on our tongues and in our mouths.

味覺來自于我們舌頭 和嘴里的味覺受體。

【18】Taste is limited to the basics: salty, sweet, bitter, sour and, somewhat controversially, umami or savory.

味道只有那么幾種: 咸、甜、苦、酸, 也有人說包括了鮮。

【19】You can taste without smell, but anyone with a stuffy nose can attest that's a pretty bland experience.

雖然沒有嗅覺 你也嘗得出味道, 但是只要你的鼻子塞住了, 你就會知道食之無味。

【20】That's because when we eat, for example, chewing pizza, the pizza releases volatiles that travel from our mouths and throat up through the nasal passage.

因為我們吃東西的時候, 比如咀嚼披薩時, 披薩會釋放易揮發(fā)物, 從我們的嘴、喉嚨, 移動到我們的鼻道中。

【21】There, olfactory neurons get all the complex smells from the pizza and send that information to the brain.

嗅覺神經(jīng)元在鼻道中接收 披薩的復雜氣味, 將信息傳遞給大腦。

【22】The smell and taste work together to help us enjoy food.

嗅覺和味覺合力 讓我們可以享受美食。

【23】When our nose isn't working properly and food seems flavorless, it's because we're only tasting those basic tastes without any of the complex odors detected through smell.

我們的鼻子出問題的時候, 食物就會嘗起來沒有味道, 因為我們只嘗到了 這些基礎味道, 沒有來自嗅覺的復雜氣味。

【24】So the next time you savor an amazing flavor, thank your nose.

下次你嘗到驚為天人的 味道的時候, 感謝你的鼻子吧。

【25】Our sense of smell is what brings nuance to what we eat.

我們的嗅覺是食物的點睛之筆。