Author: Gordon M. Shepherd
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231542879
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
In his new book, Gordon M. Shepherd expands on the startling discovery that the brain creates the taste of wine. This approach to understanding wine's sensory experience draws on findings in neuroscience, biomechanics, human physiology, and traditional enology. Shepherd shows, just as he did in Neurogastronomy: How the Brain Creates Flavor and Why It Matters, that creating the taste of wine engages more of the brain than does any other human behavior. He clearly illustrates the scientific underpinnings of this process, along the way enhancing our enjoyment of wine. Neuroenology is the first book on wine tasting by a neuroscientist. It begins with the movements of wine through the mouth and then consults recent research to explain the function of retronasal smell and its extraordinary power in creating wine taste. Shepherd comprehensively explains how the specific sensory pathways in the cerebral cortex create the memory of wine and how language is used to identify and imprint wine characteristics. Intended for a broad audience of readers—from amateur wine drinkers to sommeliers, from casual foodies to seasoned chefs—Neuroenology shows how the emotion of pleasure is the final judge of the wine experience. It includes practical tips for a scientifically informed wine tasting and closes with a delightful account of Shepherd's experience tasting classic Bordeaux vintages with French winemaker Jean-Claude Berrouet of the Chateau Petrus and Dominus Estate.

Author: Gordon Shepherd
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231159110
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
Challenging the belief that the sense of smell diminished during human evolution, Shepherd argues that this sense, which constitutes the main component of flavor, is far more powerful and essential than previously believed. --from publisher description.

Author: Ian Tattersall
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300216602
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
“Wine is art. Wine is ritual. Wine is culture. Wine is romance. But in the hands of Tattersall and DeSalle . . . we learn that wine is also science.”—Neil deGrasse Tyson A Wall Street Journal Best Book for Wine Lovers An excellent bottle of wine can be the spark that inspires a brainstorming session. Such was the case for Ian Tattersall and Rob DeSalle, scientists who frequently collaborate on book and museum exhibition projects. When the conversation turned to wine one evening, it almost inevitably led the two—one a palaeoanthropologist, the other a molecular biologist—to begin exploring the many intersections between science and wine. This book presents their fascinating, freewheeling answers to the question “What can science tell us about wine?” And vice versa. Conversational and accessible to everyone, this colorfully illustrated book embraces almost every imaginable area of the sciences, from microbiology and ecology (for an understanding of what creates this complex beverage) to physiology and neurobiology (for insight into the effects of wine on the mind and body). The authors draw on physics, chemistry, biochemistry, evolution, and climatology, and they expand the discussion to include insights from anthropology, primatology, entomology, Neolithic archaeology, and even classical history. The resulting volume is indispensable for anyone who wishes to appreciate wine to its fullest. “Chemistry. Evolutionary biology. Genetics. This book is an excellent layman’s refresher on these diverse topics, and many more, and how they fit into the grand scheme of wine . . . A fact-packed and accessible read that goes a long way toward explaining why and how wine became such an important component in our enjoyment of the natural world.”—Wine Spectator

Author: Tim Hanni
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780615750880
Category : Wine
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
Master of Wine and Chef Tim Hanni MW was hailed as the Wine Antisnob by the Wall Street Journal for his work in understanding consumer wine preferences and revolutionary concepts for wine and food pairing. This introductory volume for The New Wine Fundamentals wine education program is based on two decades of research by the author and many research colleagues. "Why You Like the Wines You Like; changing the way the world thinks about wine" introduces the physiological and psychological factors that shape personal wine preferences. It offers empowerment to wine drinkers at all levels and is a truly game-changing approach to the subject of the enjoyment of wine and wine with food. Why You Like the Wine You Like also looks at the countless myths and lore associated with wine and provides insights and an information for anyone interested in wine history. Hanni's wine and food principles were adopted last year and taught as part of the Advanced Diploma curriculum for the Wine & Spirits Educational Trust. "Wine and food pairing is has become an imaginary and metaphorical exercise with little basis in reality," Hanni says. "I am on a mission to have everyone pair wines with the diner, not the dinner." "I have spent many hours with Tim wrestling with some of his ideas while they were still in the formative stage. It was both an exhilarating and an exhaustive experience. With a broad and deep knowledge of wine and food history as well as their complexities, he is not afraid to challenge the way things are done and suggest alternatives. He's not dogmatic in his beliefs, but he demands that conventional thinkers think again. You may not agree with all his conclusions, but I promise he will make you think." George Taber, author of the bestseller The Judgment of Paris and A Guide to Bargain Wines and former correspondent and editor for Time magazine

Author: Ian Glynn
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198031327
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 465

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Book Description
Drawing on a dazzlingly wide array of disciplines--physiology, neurology, psychology, anthropology, linguistics, and philosophy--Ian Glynn explains virtually every aspect of the workings of the brain, unlocking the mysteries of the mind. Here are the mechanics of nerve messages; the functioning of sensory receptors; the processes by which the brain sees, tastes, and smells; the seats of language, memory, and emotions. Glynn writes with exceptional clarity and offers telling examples: to help explain vision, for instance, he discusses optical illusions as well as cases of patients who suffer disordered seeing through healthy eyes (such as the loss of the ability to recognize familiar faces). The breadth of Glynn's erudition is astonishing, as he ranges from parallel processing in computers to the specialization of different regions of the brain (illustrated with fascinating instances of the bizarre effects of localized brain damage). He explains the different types of memory (episodic and semantic, as well as short-term and implicit memory), traces the path through the brain of information leading to emotional responses, and engages in a discussion of language that takes in Noam Chomsky and Hawaiian pidgin. Moreover, for every subject Glynn addresses, he offers a thorough-going scientific history. For example, before discussing the evolution of the brain, he provides an account of the theory of evolution itself, from the writing and success of The Origin of Species to recent work on the fossil record, DNA, and RNA. No other single volume has captured the full expanse of our knowledge of consciousness and the brain. A work of unequaled authority and eloquence, An Anatomy of Thought promises to be a new landmark of scientific writing.

Author: Ole Mouritsen
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231543247
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description
Why is chocolate melting on the tongue such a decadent sensation? Why do we love crunching on bacon? Why is fizz-less soda such a disappointment to drink, and why is flat beer so unappealing to the palate? Our sense of taste produces physical and emotional reactions that cannot be explained by chemical components alone. Eating triggers our imagination, draws on our powers of recall, and activates our critical judgment, creating a unique impression in our mouths and our minds. How exactly does this alchemy work, and what are the larger cultural and environmental implications? Collaborating in the laboratory and the kitchen, Ole G. Mouritsen and Klavs Styrbæk investigate the multiple ways in which food texture influences taste. Combining scientific analysis with creative intuition and a sophisticated knowledge of food preparation, they write a one-of-a-kind book for food lovers and food science scholars. By mapping the mechanics of mouthfeel, Mouritsen and Styrbæk advance a greater awareness of its link to our culinary preferences. Gaining insight into the textural properties of raw vegetables, puffed rice, bouillon, or ice cream can help us make healthier and more sustainable food choices. Through mouthfeel, we can recreate the physical feelings of foods we love with other ingredients or learn to latch onto smarter food options. Mastering texture also leads to more adventurous gastronomic experiments in the kitchen, allowing us to reach even greater heights of taste sensation.

Author: Todd Kliman
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307409376
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
A rich romp through untold American history featuring fabulous characters, The Wild Vine is the tale of a little-known American grape that rocked the fine-wine world of the nineteenth century and is poised to do so again today. Author Todd Kliman sets out on an epic quest to unravel the mystery behind Norton, a grape used to make a Missouri wine that claimed a prestigious gold medal at an international exhibition in Vienna in 1873. At a time when the vineyards of France were being ravaged by phylloxera, this grape seemed to promise a bright future for a truly American brand of wine-making, earthy and wild. And then Norton all but vanished. What happened? The narrative begins more than a hundred years before California wines were thought to have put America on the map as a wine-making nation and weaves together the lives of a fascinating cast of renegades. We encounter the suicidal Dr. Daniel Norton, tinkering in his experimental garden in 1820s Richmond, Virginia. Half on purpose and half by chance, he creates a hybrid grape that can withstand the harsh New World climate and produce good, drinkable wine, thus succeeding where so many others had failed so fantastically before, from the Jamestown colonists to Thomas Jefferson himself. Thanks to an influential Long Island, New York, seed catalog, the grape moves west, where it is picked up in Missouri by German immigrants who craft the historic 1873 bottling. Prohibition sees these vineyards burned to the ground by government order, but bootleggers keep the grape alive in hidden backwoods plots. Generations later, retired Air Force pilot Dennis Horton, who grew up playing in the abandoned wine caves of the very winery that produced the 1873 Norton, brings cuttings of the grape back home to Virginia. Here, dot-com-millionaire-turned-vintner Jenni McCloud, on an improbable journey of her own, becomes Norton’s ultimate champion, deciding, against all odds, to stake her entire reputation on the outsider grape. Brilliant and provocative, The Wild Vine shares with readers a great American secret, resuscitating the Norton grape and its elusive, inky drink and forever changing the way we look at wine, America, and long-cherished notions of identity and reinvention.

Author: Luca Tommasi
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262551896
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
An overview of current research at the intersection of psychology and biology, integrating evolutionary and developmental data and explanations. In the past few decades, sources of inspiration in the multidisciplinary field of cognitive science have widened. In addition to ongoing vital work in cognitive and affective neuroscience, important new work is being conducted at the intersection of psychology and the biological sciences in general. This volume offers an overview of the cross-disciplinary integration of evolutionary and developmental approaches to cognition in light of these exciting new contributions from the life sciences. This research has explored many cognitive abilities in a wide range of organisms and developmental stages, and results have revealed the nature and origin of many instances of the cognitive life of organisms. Each section of Cognitive Biology deals with a key domain of cognition: spatial cognition; the relationships among attention, perception, and learning; representations of numbers and economic values; and social cognition. Contributors discuss each topic from the perspectives of psychology and neuroscience, brain theory and modeling, evolutionary theory, ecology, genetics, and developmental science. Contributors Chris M. Bird, Elizabeth M. Brannon, Neil Burgess, Jessica F. Cantlon, Stanislas Dehaene, Christian F. Doeller, Reuven Dukas, Rochel Gelman, Alexander Gerganov, Paul W. Glimcher, Robert L. Goldstone, Edward M. Hubbard, Lucia F. Jacobs, Mark H. Johnson, Annette Karmiloff-Smith, David Landy, Lynn Nadel, Nora S. Newcombe, Daniel Osorio, Mary A. Peterson, Manuela Piazza, Philippe Pinel, Michael L. Platt, Kristin R. Ratliff, Michael E. Roberts, Wendy S. Shallcross, Stephen V. Shepherd, Sylvain Sirois, Luca Tommasi, Alessandro Treves, Alexandra Twyman, Giorgio Vallortigara

Author: Lynn B. Martin
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118398785
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 371

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Book Description
Integrative Organismal Biology synthesizes current understandings of the causes and consequences of individual variation at the physiological, behavioral and organismal levels. Emphasizing key topics such as phenotypic plasticity and flexibility, and summarizing emerging areas such as ecological immunology, oxidative stress biology and others, Integrative Organismal Biology pulls together information from diverse disciplines to provide a synthetic view of the role of the individual in evolution. Beginning with the role of the individual in evolutionary and ecological processes, the book covers theory and mechanism from both classic and modern perspectives. Chapters explore concepts such as phenotypic plasticity, genetic and epigenetic variation, physiological and phenotypic variation, homeostasis, and gene and physiological regulatory networks. A concluding section interweaves these concepts through a series of case studies of life processes such as aging, reproduction, and immune defense. Written and edited by leaders in the field, Integrative Organismal Biology will be an important advanced textbook for students and researchers across a variety of subdisciplines of integrative biology.

Author: Bing Zhang
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Drosophila
Languages : en
Pages : 552

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Book Description
Based on Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's long-running course, Drosophila Neurobiology: A Laboratory Manual offers detailed protocols and background material for researchers interested in using Drosophila as an experimental model for investigating the nervous system. This manual covers three approaches to the field: analysis of neural development, recording and imaging activities in the nervous system, and analysis of behavior. Techniques described include molecular, genetic, electrophysiological, imaging, behavioral and developmental methods.