Marcia Pelchat

Associate Member

Education

Ph.D., Physiological Psychology; University of Pennsylvania

Research Summary

My research interests include: 1) food preferences, especially mechanisms of food cravings, responses to novel foods, and food preferences in the elderly; 2) chemical senses in the elderly including taste, smell, and chemical irritation; 3) genetics of individual differences in human chemosensation; and 4) neuroimaging of sensory and evaluative responses to food.

Keywords

aging, obesity, craving, human, picky eating, gustation, olfaction, food selection, brain imaging, psychophysics

Recent Publications

Corsica, J. A. and Pelchat, M. L. (2010) “Food addiction: true or false?” Current Opinions in Gastroenterology. 26, 165-69.

Pelchat, M. L.; Bykowski, C.; Duke, F. and Reed, D. R. (2010) “Excretion and perception of a characteristic odor in urine after asparagus ingestion: A psychophysical and genetic study.” Chemical Senses. 36.1, 9-17.

Pelchat, M. L. (2009) “Food addiction in humans.” Journal of Nutrition. 139, 620-22.

Pelchat, M. L.; Johnson, A.; Chan, R.; Valdez, J. and Ragland, J. D. (2004) “Images of desire: Food-craving activation during fMRI.” NeuroImage. 23, 1486-93.

Delwiche, J. F. and Pelchat, M. L. (2002) “Influence of glass shape on the perception of wine aroma.” Journal of Sensory Studies. 17, 19-28.

Pelchat, M. L. (2002) “Of human bondage: Food craving, obsession, compulsion, and addiction.” Physiology & Behavior. 76, 347-52.

Pelchat, M. L. and Blank, F. (2001) “A scientific approach to flavors and olfactory memory.” Food and the Memory: Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, 2000 Proceedings. Ed. H. Walker. Devon, UK: Prospect Books, 192-98.

Pelchat, M. L. (2001) “Is age-related olfactory loss uniform across odorants?” Compendium of Olfactory Research. Ed. T. S. Lorig. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 3-12.

Pelchat, M. L. (2000) “You can teach an old dog new tricks: Olfaction and responses to novel foods by the elderly.” Appetite. 35, 153-60.

Pelchat, M. L. and Schaefer, S. (2000) “Dietary monotony and food cravings in young and elderly adults.” Physiology & Behavior. 68, 353-59.

Pelchat, M. L. and Beauchamp, G. K. (1999) “Sensory and taste preferences of chocolate.” Chocolate and Cocoa. Ed. I. Knight. Oxford: Blackwell Science,. 310-20.

Lab Staff

Ryan Crawford – Research Technician