This is your brain on Pumpkin Spice Latte

This is your brain. And this is your brain — your comforted, cozy, feeling-totally-at-one-with-autumn brain — on a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Forget football season, Halloween, autumn, Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping season. It's really Pumpkin Spice Latte season, and caffeinated Americans' attention again has turned to Starbucks' eagerly awaited seasonal drink (although, come to think of it, Pumpkin Spice Latte season, like Christmas shopping season, does seem to be a arriving earlier each year).

But why is a Pumpkin Spice Latte so effective in creating a sense of autumnal bliss? Thank, in large part, proteins found on nerves on the tongue and in the mouth that help you detect temperature changes in the foods you eat.

Maggie Kuo, in a story on the American Physiological Society's website notes that the proteins, when stimulated, can create an association of warmth with certain foods even if the foods are at room temperature.

For example, capsaicin, found in peppers, stimulates a protein that's associated with heat, so a pepper will feel hot even if it's cold, Kuo writes. Similarly, sucking on a mint will create a sensation of coolness in your mouth, even if the mint itself isn't cold.

The cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg used to make a Pumpkin Spice Latte all work in a similar way, evoking a sense of warmth, Kuo writes.

Now, layer on top of that, like an artfully designed latte foam tree, the warm, happy feelings you experience when drinking your Pumpkin Spice Latte, and offer up a toast to the the combination of chemistry, physiology and emotion that makes your drink a pretty impressive beverage.

Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280 or follow @JJPrzybys on Twitter.