Temporal calibration in taste temporal order judgment is associated with empathizing traits

Owing to differences in receptor type (i.e., ionotropic or metabotropic), salty tastants may be detected faster than sweet tastants, approximately 100 ms. Such a delay is sufficient for perception in certain situations. It is possible that temporal calibration occurs in a manner similar to audiovisual stimuli and that this process would be atypical in individuals with cognitive styles related to autistic traits. Therefore, we hypothesized that characteristics of taste perception may also be influenced by cognitive styles. This study investigated the relationship between taste perception and several cognitive styles, including the empathizing traits, the systemizing traits, and the autistic traits. Thirty participants were asked to touch the tips of their tongues with a small hole in a tube through which purified water flowed. Tastants (salty, sweet, and their mixture) were sequentially delivered to the participants, separated by air bubbles. The participants were required to reproduce the order of the tastants. For many participants, the orders of the salty and sweet tastants were accurately reproduced. When the mixture was delivered, participants' responses varied widely, and the proportion of "salty first" judgments negatively correlated with empathy quotient scores. These results suggest that temporal calibration may occur in individuals with more empathizing traits.