A song with your coffee really does make it taste sweeter — brain scans now show why

It is not just a feeling. In the first brain-imaging study of its kind, University of Copenhagen food scientists put people in a scanner and found that tasting something while music plays lights up the brain's taste and movement regions more strongly than taste alone — the brain literally builds flavour partly out of sound. Earlier work had shown slow, harmonious pop makes sweetness feel stronger; this study, published in Scientific Reports, shows the machinery behind it. 'Flavor is an experience created by the brain,' says senior author Professor Janice Wang. The team suggests something as simple as the right music could one day help hospital patients at risk of malnutrition enjoy eating again.