NIH Workshop Report: sensory nutrition and disease.

Area of Science:

• Multidisciplinary research at the intersection of sensory science, nutrition, neuroscience, and health sciences.
• Focus on chemosensation's role in dietary choices, health outcomes, and disease risk.

Background:

• The NIH
• Sensory Nutrition and Disease
• workshop convened experts to discuss chemosensation's impact on diet and health.
• The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the link between viral infections (e.g., SARS-CoV-2) and altered flavor perception.

Purpose of the Study:

• To summarize workshop deliberations and subsequent discussions on sensory nutrition.
• To identify research priorities for understanding the interplay between chemosensation, diet, and health.
• To highlight the impact of the pandemic on chemosensory research.

Main Methods:

• The report synthesizes discussions from a multidisciplinary workshop.
• It addresses key topics: chemosensory assessment optimization, system plasticity, and the integration of sensory, cognitive, and metabolic signals.
• Follow-up discussions considered the pandemic's influence.

Main Results:

• Several research priorities were identified, including refining chemosensory measurement methods for large cohorts.
• Characterizing interindividual differences in chemosensory function and their health implications is crucial.
• Defining neural circuits and identifying novel chemosensory receptor ligands are key areas for advancement.

Conclusions:

• There is a growing body of evidence supporting functional interactions between chemosensory and nutritional sciences.
• Advancing sensory nutrition research is expected to provide insights for health promotion and disease mitigation.
• Understanding chemosensation is vital for informing nutrition policy.