The Epicurean poet and philosopher Lucretius argued that each sense "has powers discrete and apart, its separate force.” Neuroscience has proven that wrong, finding that all senses interact with one another:
While neuroscientists have been piecing together how senses connect in the brain, [psychologist Charles Spence] work has revealed how the crossing of sensory information affects perception and behavior. His recent work on the psychology of flavor perception, for instance, has shown that the flavor of your food is influenced by touch, vision, and even sound. A study from his lab a few years ago showed that people rate potato chips as crisper and better-tasting when a louder crunch is played back over headphones as they eat. A study published this year showed that people thought a strawberry mousse tasted sweeter, more intense, and better when they ate it off a white plate rather than a black plate. Other researchers have conducted similar studies showing that our impressions of experiences, and our emotional responses to them, derive from a blending of different kinds of sensory input — a process that is usually completely unconscious.
The Dish 