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At least 469 records · Page 26Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

A comparison of two chlorhexidine gel brushing regimens and a conventional toothpaste brushing regimen for the development of tooth staining over a 6-week period.

AIMS: A single-centre, randomized single-blind parallel study was undertaken to compare staining seen with three brushing regimens and to determine subject perception of side effects such as staining and effects on taste. METHODS: This 6-week parallel study used 157 volunteers who were randomized into one of three treatment groups: (i) brushing in the morning and evening with a normal dose of a 1% chlorhexidine gel, (ii) brushing with a low dose of chlorhexidine gel in the evening and a whitening dentifrice in the morning, and (iii) brushing with a standard fluoride paste in the morning and evening. Following home usage of their allocated products, the study volunteers returned after 3 and 6 weeks to record the amount of stain present. After the 6-week period, subject perception of taste and stain acceptability was determined using a questionnaire. RESULTS: After 6 weeks of use of the low-dose chlorhexidine gel and whitening dentifrice, significantly more stain was seen compared with the use of a standard dentifrice (P<0.0001). Similarly, significantly more stain was seen with use of the normal-dose chlorhexidine gel compared with the low-dose gel and whitening dentifrice (P=0.0007). Approximately 30% of individuals on the low-dose chlorhexidine gel regimen found the amount of stain unacceptable and 10% noted an effect on their taste perception. CONCLUSIONS: The use of low dose of chlorhexidine gel at night and a whitening paste in the morning produced a significant amount of stain that 30% of subjects considered unacceptable.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Failure of oral L-histidine to influence appetite or affect zinc metabolism in man: a double-blind study.

L-Histidine, 4 g/day in gelatin capsules, was administered orally to eight normal volunteers for 2 weeks in a double-blind, balanced, crossover study with 2 weeks of placebo treatment. Body weight, serum and urinary zinc and histidine concentrations, as well as subjective ratings of appetite, taste and smell perception, and food intake were monitored. L-Histidine therapy had no significant effect on appetite, taste and smell perception, food intake, or body weight. Similarly, no effects were observed on total serum zinc, albumin-bound zinc or alpha 2-macroglobulin-bound zinc concentrations, or on urinary histidine excretion. Serum histidine concentrations increased with therapy. Urinary zinc excretion was increased significantly after 1 week, but not after 2 weeks of L-histidine therapy. It can be concluded that oral L-histidine, at the dose used, has no value as an anorectic agent.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Evaluation of gustatory function in postmenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the gustatory function in postmenopausal women. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Whole mouth taste test and spatial taste test were administered to 20 postmenopausal women (Group 1) and 20 age-matched male subjects (Group 2). Further investigations were carried out for subjective assessment of taste alteration and nutritional differences between premenopausal and postmenopausal periods. RESULTS: There was a significant reduction in sucrose perception and in palatal sensitivity in postmenopausal women (p<0.05). Only 7(35%) of the female patients noticed alteration in taste perception during the postmenopausal period. Alteration in dietary habits after menopause was reported by 9 (45%) patients. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that taste perception of the tongue does not change, but that there is a disorder in palatal perception in postmenopausal women. Furthermore, there is tendency to preference of sweeter foods during menopause.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1997

Genetic sensitivity to 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) and hedonic responses to bitter and sweet tastes.

Genetically mediated sensitivity to the bitter taste of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) has been associated with greater acuity for bitter and for some sweet tastes. Thus far, few studies have explored the relationship between PROP taste sensitivity and hedonic responses to bitter and sweet. In this study, 87 normal-weight young women were divided into PROP non-tasters (n = 18), regular tasters (n = 49), and supertasters (n = 20), based on their PROP detection thresholds and the scaling of five suprathreshold solutions of PROP and NaCl. Non-tasters had thresholds > 1.8 x 10(-4) mol/l PROP. Supertasters had thresholds < 3.2 x 10(-5) mol/l PROP and PROP/NaCl ratios > 1.70. As expected, dislike of the bitter taste of PROP was determined by its perceived intensity, which was greater among supertasters than among regular tasters or non-tasters. Significant correlations were observed between PROP taste thresholds and the sum of intensity ratings (r = -0.61) and between summed intensity and summed hedonic ratings (r = -0.80). PROP taste sensitivity was weakly linked to enhanced perception of sweet taste, but did not predict hedonic responses to sucrose or to saccharin solutions. Given that the dislike of PROP solutions is determined by their perceived intensity, hedonic responses to PROP solutions may provide a rapid way of screening for PROP taster status.

Factor Analysis, Statistical↗
PubMed2002

Expression and physiological actions of cholecystokinin in rat taste receptor cells.

Gustatory perception arises not only from intracellular transduction cascades within taste receptor cells but also from cell-to-cell communication among the cells of the taste bud. This study presents novel data demonstrating that the brain-gut peptide cholecystokinin (CCK) is expressed in subsets of taste receptor cells, and that it may play a signaling role unknown previously within the taste bud. Immunocytochemistry revealed positively stained subsets of cells within taste buds throughout the oral cavity. These cells typically displayed round nuclei with full processes, similar to those classified as light cells. Peptide expression was verified using nested PCR on template cDNA derived from mRNA extracted from isolated posterior taste buds. Multiple physiological actions of cholecystokinin on taste receptor cells were observed. An outward potassium current, recorded with the patch-clamp technique, was inhibited by exogenous application of sulfated cholecystokinin octapeptide in a reversible and concentration-dependent manner. Pharmacological analysis suggests that this inhibition is mediated by CCK-A receptors and involves PKC phosphorylation. An inwardly rectifying potassium current, typically invariant to stimulation, was also inhibited by cholecystokinin. Additionally, exogenous cholecystokinin was effective in elevating intracellular calcium as measured by ratiometric techniques with the calcium-sensitive dye fura-2. Pharmacology similarly demonstrated that these calcium elevations were mediated by CCK-A receptors and were dependent on intracellular calcium stores. Collectively, these observations suggest a newly discovered role for peptide neuromodulation in the peripheral processing of taste information.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Human taste: peripheral anatomy, taste transduction, and coding.

The anatomy, physiology and psychology of taste provide a glimpse into a uniquely heterogeneous sensory world; a world that is robust in its importance to flavor, redundant in its transductive heterogeneity and complexity, requisite in that feeding and hence life usually depend upon taste input, regenerative in that taste cells constantly turn over and regrow after tissue damage, and resistant to disease, loss of neural innervation and epithelial destruction. This chapter considers our current state of knowledge in anatomy, taste bud physiology, molecular biology of bitter, sweet, sour, savory and salty tastes, afferent signaling and quality coding, human perception, and pathophysiology and senescence of taste. We highlight some of the advances made in molecular biology of taste and point out areas where further research is needed ranging from taste bud development and regeneration, to within-taste bud processing, to central/perceptual coding networks for taste. Our hope is that this chapter will provide a background for greater understanding of taste physiology, perception, disease, and future sensory research.

Brain↗
PubMed2005

What is the relationship between synaesthesia and visuo-spatial number forms?

This study compares the tendency for numerals to elicit spontaneous perceptions of colour or taste (synaesthesia) with the tendency to visualise numbers as occupying particular visuo-spatial configurations (number forms). The prevalence of number forms was found to be significantly higher in synaesthetes experiencing colour compared both to synaesthetes experiencing taste and to control participants lacking any synaesthetic experience. This suggests that the presence of synaesthetic colour sensations enhances the tendency to explicitly represent numbers in a visuo-spatial format although the two symptoms may nevertheless be logically independent (i.e. it is possible to have number forms without colour, and coloured numbers without forms). Number forms are equally common in men and women, unlike previous reports of synaesthesia that have suggested a strong female bias. Individuals who possess a number form are also likely to possess visuo-spatial forms for other ordinal sequences (e.g. days, months, letters) which suggests that it is the ordinal nature of numbers rather than numerical quantity that gives rise to this particular mode of representation. Finally, we also describe some consequences of number forms for performance in a number comparison task.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

[Hearing loss, disorders of sound localization with the preservation ofsmell and taste in diabetics].

Diabetes is often complicated by serious medical conditions which could be related to the development of auditory system and cranial nerves lesions, disorder of sound localisation and decreased olfactory and taste ability. Cranial nerve palsies in diabetes are considered as an integral part of the main disease. Twenty nine children with diabetes and non-diabetics control group, without a history of exposure to noise, ototoxic drugs, or ear disease aged 4-19 years old were examined. Hearing impairment may be present in children with disease duration above 3-5 years and in children with other complications. Sound localisation tests were performed by the method of Zakrzewski from a free auditory field, measuring the angle of directional hearing acuity in 35 diabetics age from 16 to 78 years. Longer duration of diabetes was associated with higher directional hearing acuity. Higher hearing loss was observed with higher directional values in diabetics. The authors investigated smell and taste in 35 diabetics. All patients were treated with insulin. Impairment value of smell identification thresholds was much more frequent than impairment of smell perception. In no case raised threshold of taste perception.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Effect of concentration on taste-taste interactions in foods for elderly and young subjects.

An increase in concentration of one of the tastants in a 'real food' might affect not only the perception of the taste quality of that manipulated tastant but also the other perceivable taste qualities. The influence of concentration increase of sodium or potassium chloride in tomato soup, sucrose or aspartame in iced tea, acetic or citric acid in mayonnaise, caffeine or quinine HCl in chocolate drink, monosodium glutamate (MSG) or inosine 5'-monophosphate (IMP) in broth on the other perceivable taste qualities in these foods was studied in 21 young subjects (19-33 years) and 21 older subjects (60-75 years). The results showed that for each of these tastants, except for the two acids, increasing the concentration provoked significant positive or negative interaction effects on the perception of one or more other taste qualities of the product. Especially in the young, olfaction plays a larger role in the assessment of taste intensity than has been hitherto assumed. The elderly are less able to discriminate between the taste qualities in a product, whereas the young are more able to do so.

Acetic Acid↗
PubMed2004

Psychophysical testing of taste and flavour reactivity in young patients undergoing treatment with removable orthodontic appliances.

Upper removable appliances (URA), as well as full dentures, are known to be the cause of various complaints related to oral handling of food and beverages, phonation and vocalization, in addition to general discomfort. To test the hypothesis that taste and flavour perception might also be affected by URA, 22 young orthodontic patients (10 males and 12 females aged 11.5 +/- 1.7 years; experimental group) wearing URA and 17 subjects (seven males and 10 females aged 11.6 +/- 2.0 years; control group) not wearing any orthodontic appliances were presented with a battery of eight intra-oral gustatory and three retro-nasal flavour stimuli. The subjects in the experimental group were tested on three different occasions and those in the control group on two occasions. All participants were required to label verbally the perceived taste and flavour sensations, as well as to estimate the palatability and intensity of the perceived sensation on a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS). Means and standard deviations were calculated from the individual values and then compared between the two groups and among the different testing times. Statistical significance was assessed with a level of confidence set at 0.025. The results revealed no significant difference between the indicative values chosen to represent taste and flavour reactivity, neither between the groups nor among different dates of testing within each group. Orthodontists should therefore encourage patients to also use the URA during meals, without any detrimental effect on taste and/or flavour perception.

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMed1990

Perceptual characteristics of the amiloride-suppressed sodium chloride taste response in the rat.

The contribution of amiloride-sensitive membrane components to the perception of NaCl taste was assessed by using a conditioned taste aversion procedure. Eight independent groups of adult rats were conditioned to avoid either 0.1M NaCl, 0.5M NaCl; 0.1M NH4Cl, or 1.0M sucrose while their tongues were exposed either to water or to the sodium transport blocker amiloride hydrochloride. In contrast to rats exposed to water during conditioning, rats exposed to amiloride were unable to acquire a conditioned taste aversion to 0.1M NaCl. Differences in the acquisition of taste aversions between the amiloride- and nonamiloride-treated groups were not apparent when the conditioned stimulus (CS) was 0.5M NaCl, 0.1M NH4Cl, or 1.0M sucrose. Although the magnitude of the 0.5M NaCl aversion was similar between amiloride- and non-amiloride-treated rats, the perceptual characteristics of the CS differed between groups. Analyses of stimulus generalization gradients revealed that amiloride-treated rats generally avoided all monochloride salts after conditioning to 0.5M NaCl but not nonsodium salts or nonsalt stimuli. In contrast, rats not treated with amiloride only generalized the 0.5M NaCl aversion to sodium salts. No differences in generalization gradients occurred between groups when the CS was 0.1M NH4Cl or 1.0M sucrose. These findings suggest that the "salty" taste of NaCl is primarily related to the amiloride-sensitive portion of the functional taste response in rats. Conversely, the portion of the NaCl response insensitive to amiloride appears to have "sour-salty" perceptual characteristics and does not appear to be perceived as being salty.

Amiloride↗
PubMed1999

Perception of sweetness in simple and complex taste stimuli by adults and children.

Currently, there is little information on the ability of children to analyse complex chemosensory stimuli in terms of the presence and magnitude of the components. The present study investigates this question by comparing the ability of 95 adults and 8- to 9-year-olds to estimate the sweetness of several concentrations of sucrose in water and in three foods, namely, orange drink, custard and shortbread biscuits, using a magnitude estimation procedure. The results indicated that similar response functions were produced by adults and children for the sweetness of aqueous solutions of sucrose, custard and biscuits, but not for orange juice, where the functions produced by both female and male children were significantly flatter than those of the adults. Stimulus context may have influenced the ratings of children in the no-sucrose and highest sucrose concentration conditions with two of the foods. The absence of differences between the response functions of the female and male children with all types of stimuli indicated that gender had no influence on their responses. It is concluded that, at mid-childhood, humans are capable of estimating the sweetness of sucrose in foods, but that they have a tendency to limit the range of numbers used in their estimates of sweetness at high concentrations of sucrose in some foods.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Developmental trends in the understanding of perceptual adaptation.

In the first of three studies, kindergartners, third graders, and sixth graders were questioned to determine whether they comprehend five types of perceptual adaptation or contrast effects. The results indicated little consistency among kindergartners, but there were strong improvements by the third-grade level, and at the sixth-grade level almost all of the children were showing perfect performance, demonstrating comprehension of the five forms of perceptual adaptation. In the second and third studies, children and adults were placed in a situation in which adaptation to temperature and weight could occur, and they were asked to predict subsequent perceptions. Correct performance in these studies generally occurred at later ages than in Study 1 with even college students showing incorrect performance in some cases. However, the age trends shifted quite markedly depending upon the nature and structure of the task. The results were consistent with a theory stressing the relation of early formed schemas in the form of memory traces of experiences to later appearing and more abstract schemas. The results show the importance of studying older children when considering developing theories of mind.

Adaptation, Ocular↗
PubMed1989

A theoretical model for perceived intensity in human taste and smell. II. Temporal integration and reaction times.

The theoretical model for perceived intensity in human taste and smell published previously was extended by incorporating the concept of signal detectability and temporal integration phenomena at low and high stimulus levels. The processes involved in human taste and smell perception are divided into three stages: a) An "internal meter" registers outside signals. Adaptation occurs at this stage. b) The meter is read for two possible purposes: to detect a weak signal or to estimate the signal's intensity. Both tasks require the smoothing of noise, which is accomplished by integration of the meter over time. c) The internal estimate is expressed through the use of a scaling method.

Humans↗
PubMed2002

Identification and characterization of human taste receptor genes belonging to the TAS2R family.

The sense of taste is a chemosensory system responsible for basic food appraisal. Humans distinguish between five primary tastes: bitter, sweet, sour, salty and umami. The molecular events in the perception of bitter taste are believed to start with the binding of specific water-soluble molecules to G-protein-coupled receptors encoded by the TAS2R/T2R family of taste receptor genes. TAS2R receptors are expressed at the surface of taste receptor cells and are coupled to G proteins and second messenger pathways. We have identified, cloned and characterized 11 new bitter taste receptor genes and four new pseudogenes that belong to the human TAS2R family. Their encoded proteins have between 298 and 333 amino acids and share between 23 and 86% identity with other human TAS2R proteins. Screening of a mono-chromosomal somatic cell hybrid panel to assign the identified bitter taste receptor genes to human chromosomes demonstrated that they are located in chromosomes 7 and 12. Including the 15 sequences identified, the human TAS2R family is composed of 28 full-length genes and 16 pseudogenes. Phylogenetic analyses suggest a classification of the TAS2R genes in five groups that may reflect a specialization in the detection of specific types of bitter chemicals.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2002

New perspectives on taste and primate evolution: the dichotomy in gustatory coding for perception of beneficent versus noxious substances as supported by correlations among human thresholds.

In various environments where primates are presently observed, as well as in forests and savannas which have been inhabited by australopithecines and early hominids, there are (or there have been presumably) categories of substances eliciting taste signals associated with stereotyped responses. Such is the case for various soluble sugars of fruits and nectars, attracting consumers, and for several plant compounds in which bitter or strongly astringent properties have a repulsive effect. The occurrence of such classes of tasty substances among natural products appears to be related to the evolutionary trends that shaped primate sensory perception (for detecting either beneficent or potentially noxious substances) in the context of a long history of coevolution between animals and plants. Here, we present original psychophysical data on humans (412 individuals aged 17-59 years) as an analogy with which to test recent evidence from electrophysiology in nonhuman primates (Hellekant et al. [1997] J. Neurophysiol. 77:978-993; Danilova et al. [1998] Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 855:160-164) that taste fibers can be grouped into clusters of "best-responding fibers" with two more specific clusters, one for sugars and one for quinine and tannins. The collinearity found between human taste responses (recognition thresholds) for fructose and sucrose, as well as for quinine and tannins, is presented and discussed as another evidence of the two-direction evolutionary trend determining taste sensitivity. Salt perception appears to be totally independent of these trends. Accordingly, the appreciation of a salty taste seems to be a recent culturally learned response, and not a primary taste perception. The very existence of primary tastes is discussed in the context of evolutionary trends, past and present.

Adolescent↗