Shifts in Colour Discrimination and Food Imagery Preferences during the First Trimester

The present study aims to test the adaptive theory of pregnancy sickness to limit fetal exposure to teratogens, by investigating possible shifts in colour discrimination and food imagery preferences in women during their first trimester of pregnancy. We hypothesized that colour discrimination and food imagery preference shifts are part of the changes that occur to the first trimester pregnant woman's perceptual shifts. The reason for this shift is to protect the embryo during its most vulnerable phase of development. We recruited 6 pregnant women in their first trimester and 9 non-pregnant women to participate in the study. Subjects complete the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 hue test in which they were asked to order 85 coloured caps in their order of hue. Next, subjects viewed a slideshow of 10 common food exemplars. Each slide displayed a food at 6 different stages of its ripeness or freshness and subjects were asked to rate how appetizing they found each food. Preliminary results confirm our first prediction that first trimester subjects have better chromatic discrimination when compared with non-pregnant subjects.