This past week, the NBB class visited the Musee du Chocolat! I have to say, I had been anticipating this specific visit since the day I read the syllabus. From my excitement, you can guess that I enjoy anything chocolate and appreciated acquiring so much knowledge about a sweet treat I had indulged in frequently, yet knew nothing about.
In fact, our class was in the midst of completing an NBB 402W assignment to read and analyze an article all about cocoa flavanols and their effects on temporal and spatial attention. I grew interested to learn more about the topic to justify all the chocolate I had eaten while doing my Emory homework these past two years. Most importantly, I wanted to learn more about French culture. The article discussed that cocoa flavanols actually increase visual attention and reaction times. However, it also did conclude that cocoa flavanols do not have a significant effect on temporal attention. (Karabay et. al, 2017). As I read the article, I began to realize that I knew nothing about the science of chocolate and that being able to learn and then discuss that information after visiting the museum would be both a culminating experience and a sweet treat in itself!
Indeed, after visiting Paris’ Musee du Chocolat, I felt like I was on my way to one day becoming a chocolate connoisseur! At the museum, I spent time thoroughly reading about the history of chocolate, which ranges from the incorporation of cocoa as an ancient currency to modern day molds made by Belgium chocolate companies. I also made sure to search the museum for the exact way in which the sweeter form of chocolate was created. The Spanish actually first added sugar to cocoa, and since then, chocolate has become a sweet delicacy!
It was a priority of mine to eat as much chocolate as possible throughout my time at the museum. To my surprise, the dark chocolate served at the historical key-points grew sweeter in taste as I walked toward the present day part of the exhibit. Moreover, I of course ate my way through the workshop on how to make praline-filled chocolate!
My visit to the Musee du Chocolat was a fantastic experience. I learned more about chocolate and was able to integrate my knowledge of neuroscience into the visit. After the visit, I had learned about the history, production, and cognitive benefits of chocolate. I would say that this week culminated with a pretty well-rounded and tasty experience.
Citation:
Karabay A, Saija JD, Field DT, Akyürek EG. (2017). The acute effects of cocoa flavanols on temporal and spatial attention.
