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边吃饭边听音乐，饭菜好像更香——研究者把这种现象叫作“声音调味”（sonic seasoning）。过去的研究大多靠受试者打分，哥本哈根大学食品科学系的团队这次让 28 名成年人躺在功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）扫描仪里，分别只听音乐、只尝甜味或酸味液体，以及边听相配的音乐边品尝。结果显示，音乐与味道同时出现时，与味觉和口腔感觉相关的脑区更活跃，其中“甜音乐配甜味”的效果最明显，酸味搭配则没有同样清楚的增强。研究者认为，这或许能帮助餐厅、食堂和医院在不改变食物的情况下改善用餐体验，尤其是对有营养不良风险的人；但样本小、多样性不足、效应不大，还需要更大规模的研究。文章按“常见感受—过去研究的不足—实验方法—发现—用途—局限”展开，阅读时可留意 but、still、although 如何引出转折，以及 may、could、suggests 如何控制结论的确定程度。

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Have you ever felt that a meal tastes better when the right song is playing? Scientists have studied this idea for years, and they call it “sonic seasoning.” Now a team at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark has found new evidence for it inside the brain. Their study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, suggests that music can change the way the brain builds flavour.

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你是否曾觉得，放着合适的歌曲时，饭菜会更好吃？科学家多年来一直在研究这一现象，并称之为“声音调味”。如今，丹麦哥本哈根大学的一个团队在大脑中为它找到了新的证据。他们发表在《科学报告》期刊上的研究表明，音乐可以改变大脑构建风味的方式。

Earlier studies on sonic seasoning mostly depended on what people said. People tasted things with and without music and then gave scores. For example, slow pop music with pleasant, harmonious sounds seemed to make food taste sweeter. But such reports cannot show what is happening inside the body. “With brain scans, we gain a biological window into what happens when the senses interact,” said Alberte Baggesgaard Seeberg, the first author of the study.

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此前关于声音调味的研究大多依赖人们的自我描述。人们在有音乐和没有音乐的情况下品尝东西，然后打分。例如，节奏缓慢、声音和谐悦耳的流行音乐似乎会让食物尝起来更甜。但这类自述无法显示身体内部发生了什么。“借助脑部扫描，我们获得了一扇生物学的窗口，可以看到各种感官相互作用时发生了什么。”该研究的第一作者Alberte Baggesgaard Seeberg说。

The researchers worked with 28 adults. Each person lay inside an fMRI scanner, a machine that measures activity in different parts of the brain by following changes in blood flow. Sometimes the participants only listened to music. Sometimes a device put a small amount of sweet or sour liquid, made from sugar or citric acid, on their tongues. In other tests, they heard matching music while they were tasting.

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研究人员招募了 28 名成年人。每个人躺在功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）扫描仪中，这种机器通过追踪血流变化来测量大脑不同部位的活动。有时参与者只听音乐；有时一台装置把少量由糖或柠檬酸制成的甜味或酸味液体滴到他们的舌头上；在另一些测试中，他们一边品尝，一边听与味道相匹配的音乐。

The results showed that some brain regions linked to taste and to feelings in the mouth were more active when music and taste came together than when people tasted in silence. The effect was strongest when sweet music was paired with a sweet taste. The sour pairing did not show the same clear increase. “Flavour is not simply a property of food,” said Janice Wang, the senior author. “Flavour is an experience created by the brain.”

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结果显示，与在安静中品尝相比，当音乐和味道同时出现时，一些与味觉和口腔感觉有关的脑区更加活跃。甜味音乐与甜味搭配时，这种效应最强；酸味搭配则没有表现出同样明显的增强。“风味并不只是食物的一种属性，”该研究的资深作者Janice Wang说，“风味是由大脑创造的一种体验。”

This finding could have practical uses. The team believes that restaurants, workplace canteens and hospitals could use music to make meals more enjoyable without changing the food itself. Seeberg pointed to people who are at risk of malnutrition. For them, something as simple and cheap as music could possibly improve the eating experience.

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这一发现可能具有实际用途。研究团队认为，餐厅、单位食堂和医院可以在不改变食物本身的情况下，用音乐让用餐更愉快。Seeberg 特别提到了有营养不良风险的人。对他们来说，像音乐这样简单又便宜的东西，或许就能改善进食体验。

Still, the study has limits. The group was small and not very diverse, and the overall effects were modest. Age and cultural background may affect which sounds people connect with sweet or sour tastes, so the researchers say larger studies are needed. They also used simple liquids, not real dishes, although they expect similar results with sweet or sour foods. For now, a good playlist cannot fix a bland dinner, but it may help the brain enjoy a meal a little more.

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不过，这项研究也有局限。参与者人数少，背景也不够多样，总体效应并不大。年龄和文化背景可能会影响人们把哪些声音与甜味或酸味联系在一起，因此研究人员表示还需要更大规模的研究。他们使用的也只是简单的液体，而不是真正的菜肴，尽管他们预计甜味或酸味食物也会出现类似结果。就目前而言，一份好的歌单救不了一顿寡淡的晚餐，但它也许能让大脑把一餐饭享受得更多一点。

新闻来源

• University of Copenhagen · Music can enhance the flavour of your food (22 Oct 2026)
• Digital Trends · Forget seasoning, your music playlist might be the secret ingredient to a tastier meal (22 Oct 2026)

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