Development and utilisation of an automatic tastant delivery system suitable for gustatory evoked potential research

This project involved the design and development of a system which delivered taste stimuli to the mouth of participants. The brain's electrical responses to different tastes could then be recorded. Liquid bursts were delivered to specific tongue regions using a custom-designed mouthpiece. The required high timing accuracy was achieved by computer activated solenoid valves. An existing EEG system recorded the brain's electrical responses to allow a study of the differences between different types of tastants. Historically, smell and taste have received much less research attention than vision, touch and hearing so this project adds valuable knowledge to the field.