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PubMed1995

Environmental pollutants alter taste responses in the gerbil.

Taste and smell are chemical senses that play a crucial role in food selection. Damage to taste and smell receptors can impair food intake, nutritional status, and survival. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of 11 environmental pollutants (nine insecticides and two herbicides) on electrophysiological taste responses in the gerbil. Integrated chorda tympani (CT) recordings were obtained from gerbils to a range of tastants before and after a 4-min application of 1 of 11 environmental pollutants. The taste stimuli were: sodium chloride (100 mM), calcium chloride (300 mM), magnesium chloride (100 mM), HCl (10 mM), potassium chloride (500 mM), monosodium glutamate (MSG) (50 mM), sucrose (100 mM), fructose (300 mM), sodium saccharin (10 mM), quinine HCl (30 mM), and urea (2 M). The nine insecticides included organophosphorous, carbamate, and pyrethroid insecticides. The seven organophosphorous insecticides tested were: acephate, carbofuran, chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos oxon, demeton, malathion, and methamidophos. The carbamate insecticide carbaryl and the pyrethroid insecticide fenvalerate were also tested. Two herbicides, paraquat and glyphosate, were tested, and dose-response curves for each of these two herbicides were also determined. All of the 11 insecticides and herbicides had an effect on some of the taste stimuli tested. Application of 10 mM methamidophos exhibited the greatest amount of suppression on the 11 taste solutions. Each taste stimulus was significantly suppressed with the exception of 2 M urea. Herbicides paraquat and glyphosate also reduced responses to several tastants. These data indicate that environmental pollutants can modify taste responses in the gerbil.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Immunohistochemical localization of neuron-specific enolase and calcitonin gene-related peptide in rat taste papillae.

Calcitonin gene-related peptide-like and neuron-specific enolase-like immunoreactivity (CGRP-IR and NSE-IR) were surveyed immunohistochemically in the fungi-form, foliate and circumvallate papillae in rats. A dense CGRP-IR network (subgemmal and extragemmal) in the taste papillae is linked to the presence of taste buds, even though CGRP-IR fibers are rarely present in the taste buds. Three typical fiber populations were detected with these two markers. (a) A population of coarse NSE-IR intragemmal fibers characterized by thick neural swellings, never expressing CGRP-immunoreactivity. (b) A population of thin varicose intragemmal NSE/CGRP-IR fibers. (c) A population of subgemmal and extragemmal NSE-/CGRP-IR fibers that partly penetrated the epithelium. The common distribution of CGRP-IR and NSE-IR fibers at the base of taste buds, their differential distribution and morphology within taste buds, added to their restricted nature (gustatory or somatosensory) suggest that a population of CGRP-IR fibers undergoes a target-induced inhibition of its CGRP phenotype while entering the taste buds. The combined use of NSE and CGRP allowed a better characterization of nerve fibers within and between all three types of taste papillae. NSE was also a very good marker for a subtype of taste bud cells in the foliate and in the circumvallate papillae, but no such cells could be observed in the fungiform papillae.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Conditioned preferences for the taste and odor components of flavors: blocking but not overshadowing.

Sprague-Dawley rats were given two water bottles. One bottle contained sucrose and the other did not. Distinctive odors and/or tastes were paired with sucrose or plain water solutions. Preferences for the odor and taste were then measured under iso-caloric conditions when the rats were and were not food deprived. The rats preferred the odor or taste that had previously been paired with sucrose. The strength of this preference increased when the rats were food deprived suggesting that the effect was calorie mediated. The development of a preference to the odor or taste was not affected by the addition of a taste or odor; there was no evidence of overshadowing. Conditioned taste and odor preferences were partially blocked by prior pairing of the odor or taste with sucrose. The absence of overshadowing, but not the presence of blocking, was predicted by a theory of associative learning which treats odors as conditioned stimuli, tastes as unconditioned stimuli and ingestional consequences (e.g. calories or illness) as a new category referred to as feedback.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Repair of the lingual nerve after iatrogenic injury: a follow-up study of return of sensation and taste.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the return of sensation and taste after surgical repair of the lingual nerve in patients who had experienced lingual nerve sectioning. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Average follow-up was 3.7 years with a range of 1.1 to 4.6 yrs. The patients' assessment of tongue sensation and taste was registered. Clinical testing for sensibility included light touch, prick, sharp/dull discrimination, heat (45 degrees C), cold (0 degree C), anterior/posterior localization of touch, perception of direction of touch movement, and two-point discrimination. The sense of taste was tested with sweet (saccharose 5%), sour (citric acid 5%), salt (saline 5%), and bitter (chinin-hydrochloride 0.5%). RESULTS: Three patients rated their tongue sensation on the affected side as normal, another three scored subnormal, and one felt no sensibility. Likewise, four patients thought that their sense of taste was normal, two were undecided, and one felt no sense of taste on the affected side. The ability to differentiate the quality of taste on the operated side of the tongue was validated in four of 24 tests. Conversely, on the healthy side of the tongue, two of 24 tests proved negative for taste perception. CONCLUSION: There was a notable difference in the patients' assessment of normality of tongue sensation versus the result of neurological testing. Likewise, there was a remarkable difference between the patients' subjective impression of gustatory capability and their ability to diagnose the quality of taste on testing.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Impairment of taste in the Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Involvement of those cranial nerves subserving taste is common in the Guillain-Barré syndrome, yet seldom reported are disturbances of taste. This may reflect relative sparing of taste fibers, which are small thinly myelinated fibers. However, the true incidence of taste disturbances in GBS is probably underestimated since formal taste testing is often not performed, particularly in those cases where patients have been intubated. We observed two patients with GBS and abnormalities of taste. Disturbances of taste are often neglected clinically and the clinical evaluation of taste has been hampered by lack of standardization of stimuli and lack of quantification of responses.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Starch and sugar tastes in rodents: an update.

Rats are strongly attracted to the sweet taste of sugar. Recent behavioral studies demonstrate that rats also have a well-developed taste for starch-derived polysaccharides (e.g., Polycose). In fact, rats prefer Polycose to sucrose and other sugars at low concentrations. Polycose appetite develops at a very young age (9 days) and, thus, appears to be innate. The results of conditioned taste aversion tests suggest that rats taste Polycose as qualitatively different from sucrose. Recent electrophysiological findings support the idea that rodents have separate taste channels for polysaccharides and sugars. In particular, copper chloride suppresses the chorda tympani nerve response to sucrose and other sugars but has minimal effect on the neural response to Polycose. Also, Polycose evokes a profile of neural activity in the nucleus tractus solitarius that differs substantially from that produced by sucrose. Preliminary results indicate that polysaccharide and sugar tastes also differ in their metabolic consequences, i.e., unlike sugars, Polycose does not elicit a cephalic phase insulin response. The presumed function of polysaccharide taste is to facilitate the identification of starch-rich foods. Recent findings demonstrate that rats can readily detect starch even at low concentrations, but whether polysaccharide taste receptors or other orosensory receptors mediate this response remains to be clarified.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Taste disturbance after tonsillectomy and laryngomicrosurgery.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence of taste disturbance after tonsillectomy and laryngomicrosurgery. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective study. METHODS: Thirty-five consecutive patients underwent tonsillectomy with electric coagulator at Kanebo Memorial Hospital from September 2002 to May 2004. Another 35 consecutive patients underwent laryngomicrosurgery in a routine way during the same period. Both procedures were performed by two experienced doctors. The postoperative taste function was evaluated with questionnaire, electrogustometry (EGM), and serum levels of Zn, Cu and Fe. RESULTS: After tonsillectomy, 3/35 patients (8.6%) complained of taste disturbance, due to the pressure on the tongue in two, and Zn deficiency after lack of intake in one. All three patients recovered taste within 1.5 months. None of our patients had taste disturbance due to surgical insult of the lingual branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve. After laryngomicrosurgery, only one patient (2.9%) complained of taste disturbance with elevation of the EGM threshold that resulted from the pressure on the tongue. In addition, abnormal sensation in the tongue occurred in 9 cases (25.7%) after tonsillectomy and in 2 cases (5.7%) after laryngomicrosurgery, and feeling of thirst occurred in 12 cases (34.3%) and in 8 cases (22.9%), respectively. CONCLUSION: Taste disturbance occurs in few cases when experienced surgeons perform tonsillectomy or laryngomicrosurgery. However, it is recommended to inform the patients of the potential postoperative complications such as taste disturbance and abnormal sensation of the tongue.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Within-compound associations are not sufficient to produce taste-mediated odor potentiation.

Rats were used in two flavor-aversion experiments to determine if within-compound associations could be detected with a taste+odor compound that would not support taste-mediated odor potentation. In Experiment 1, following taste+odor compound conditioning, postconditioning taste extinction significantly weakened the odor aversion. In Experiment 2, following taste+odor compound conditioning, postconditioning taste inflation significantly strengthened the odor aversion. There was no evidence that taste potentiated the odor aversion in either Experiment 1 or 2. Thus, the results demonstrate that the presence of within-compound associations is not sufficient to produce taste-mediated odor potentiation. We offer a mediated conditioning explanation to account for the results of these two experiments.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Evaluation of bottled nutritive drinks using a taste sensor.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the taste of 20 bottled nutritive drinks, all commercially available on the Japanese market, both in human gustatory sensation tests and using a multi-channel taste sensor. In the gustatory sensation tests, seven trained healthy volunteers were asked to score the drinks in terms of the intensities of four basic tastes (sweetness, saltiness, sourness, and bitterness), for overall palatability (ease of drinking), and for nine components of palatability (astringency, pungency, fruitiness, tasting of a medicinal plant, refreshing, irritating to the throat, seeming beneficial, good aftertaste, and the desire to drink again). The data were analysed to determine the critical factors for overall palatability. There was a positive linear correlation between overall palatability and 'sourness', 'fruitiness', 'refreshing', and 'good aftertaste' scores (r = 0.79, 0.85, 0.74, and 0.70, respectively). There was a negative correlation between overall palatability and 'bitterness intensity', 'tasting of a medicinal plant', 'seeming beneficial', and 'pungency' scores (r = -0.76, -0.64, -0.62, and -0.50, respectively). When evaluated using a multi-channel taste sensor, there was a positive linear correlation between the intensities of sourness and bitterness determined by the human volunteers and those predicted by the taste sensor (r = 0.85 and 0.71, respectively). The pungency intensity, as evidenced in gustatory sensation tests, could be also predicted by sensor output (r = 0.84). The taste sensor seems therefore to be a potentially useful tool in evaluating the palatability of bottled nutritive drinks.

Beverages↗
PubMed2005

Evaluation of the taste and smell of bottled nutritive drinks.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the palatability of 15 bottled nutritive drinks, all commercially available in the Japanese market, using data from artificial taste and odor sensors. In gustatory sensation tests, well-trained healthy volunteers were asked to score the drinks in terms of palatability and of the four basic tastes. The results suggest that overall palatability is positively correlated with sourness intensity and fruitiness (R=0.82 and 0.86, respectively) and negatively correlated with bitterness intensity and the tasting of medicinal plants (R=-0.85 and -0.80, respectively). The sourness and bitterness intensity could be predicted by taste sensor and fruitiness could be predicted by odor sensor, respectively. By performing principal component analysis of the taste sensor data, the 15 drinks could be classified into four groups. The group classified as being predominantly sour had the highest palatability score, 3.8. By principal component analysis of odor sensor data, the drinks could also be classified into four groups and this time the group with a fruity flavor (smell) showed the highest palatability score, 3.4. In the combined analysis of both taste and odor data, products containing medicinal plants showed the lowest palatability. Finally, the combined usage of the taste and odor sensors gave rise to a three-group classification. Thus, not only the taste sensor but also the odor sensor may be useful in evaluating the palatability of bottled nutritive drinks.

Beverages↗
PubMed2005

High doses of vasopressin delay the onset of extinction and strengthen acquisition of LiCl-induced conditioned taste avoidance.

When low doses of vasopressin are given 50 min after pairing sucrose consumption with a high dose of LiCl, extinction of the LiCl-induced conditioned taste avoidance is accelerated. These low doses of vasopressin do not themselves induce conditioned taste avoidance when paired with sucrose consumption. Predicated on previous studies administering two avoidance-inducing agents after sucrose consumption, studies were designed to determine whether high doses of vasopressin capable of inducing conditioned taste avoidance would (1) delay rather than accelerate extinction of a conditioned taste avoidance induced by a high dose of LiCl and (2) strengthen acquisition of a conditioned taste avoidance induced by a low dose of LiCl. The results of three studies showed that doses of 9 and 18 microg/kg of vasopressin induced a conditioned taste avoidance when injected 50 min after sucrose consumption, delayed the onset of extinction when injected 50 min after pairing sucrose consumption with a high dose of LiCl, and strengthened acquisition of a conditioned taste avoidance when injected 50 min after pairing sucrose consumption with a low dose of LiCl. Taken together, these data suggest that the delay in onset of extinction is due to a strengthening of acquisition. It has been suggested that vasopressin is a mnemonic neuropeptide that delays extinction of learned tasks. However, for conditioned taste avoidance, the evidence for the effects of low doses of vasopressin on extinction do not support this hypothesis and the evidence for high doses of vasopressin can be accounted for by the avoidance-inducing properties of vasopressin.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Facial and affective reactions to tastes and their modulation by sadness and joy.

This study examined adults' affective and facial reactions to tastes which differ in quality and valence, and the impact of sadness and joy on these reactions. Thirty-six male and female subjects participated voluntarily. Subjects each tasted 6 ml of a sweet chocolate drink, a bitter quinine solution (0.0015 M) and a bitter-sweet soft drink. Following a baseline period, either joy or sadness was induced using film clips before the same taste stimuli were presented for a second time. Subjects rated the drinks' pleasantness and intensity of taste immediately after each stimulus presentation. Facial reactions were videotaped and analysed using the Facial Action Coding System (FACS [P. Ekman, W.V. Friesen, Facial Action Coding System: Manual. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press; 1978., P. Ekman, W. Friesen, J. Hager, Facial Action Coding System. Salt Lake City, Utah: Research Nexus; 2002.]). The results strongly indicated that the tastes produced specific facial reactions that bear strong similarities to the facial reactivity patterns found in human newborns. The data also suggest that some adults' facial reactions serve additional communicative functions. Emotions modulated taste ratings, but not facial reactions to tastes. In particular, ratings of the sweet stimulus were modulated in congruence with emotion quality, such that joy increased and sadness decreased the pleasantness and sweetness of the sweet stimulus. No emotion-congruent modulation was found for the pleasantness and intensity ratings of the bitter or the bitter-sweet stimulus. This 'robustness' of bitter taste ratings may reflect a biologically meaningful mechanism.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Insular cortex lesions and taste aversion learning: effects of conditioning method and timing of lesion.

The specific role of insular cortex in acquisition and expression of a conditioned taste aversion was assessed using two different conditioning methods, which vary mode of taste delivery. Involvement of insular cortex in the induction of c-Fos-immunoreactivity in the nucleus of the solitary tract, a cellular correlate of the behavioral expression of a conditioned taste aversion, was also assessed. Electrolytic lesions of insular cortex blocked behavioral expression of a conditioned taste aversion and this was evident not only when lesions were placed prior to conditioning, but also when they were made after conditioning but before testing. In contrast to the effects on behavior, lesions did not completely block the c-Fos-immunoreactivity which accompanies re-exposure to the aversive taste. In addition, the blocking of behavioral evidence of aversion conditioning by cortical lesions was seen both in animals trained under an intraoral acquisition procedure and those trained with bottle-conditioning. This contrasts with previous work with amygdala lesions which showed that amygdala was absolutely necessary for taste aversions conditioned with the intraoral method but not for those conditioned using bottle presentation of the taste. Overall, these findings imply that the details of the neural circuitry involved in taste aversion learning, including its anatomical distribution, complexity and degree of redundancy, vary with the type of conditioning method employed.

Amygdala↗
PubMed1999

Taste in the monkey cortex.

The sense of taste in humans differs substantially from that of rodents, from which a preponderance of gustatory electrophysiology derives. To establish a more appropriate neural model for human gustation, we recorded the activity of single neurons in the primary taste cortex in 11 alert cynomolgus macaques. Taste cells composed 6% of all neurons encountered. Another 24% responded during mouth and jaw movements, and 4% were sensitive to tactile stimulation of the mouth. Smaller numbers responded during olfactory or visual stimulation, or when the monkey extended his tongue. Taste cells could be divided into four statistically independent groups, corresponding to those most responsive to glucose (38%), NaCl (34%), quinine (22%), or HCI (5%). The location of a taste cell did not predict its response profile, i.e., there was no clear topographic organization of taste sensitivity. We established neural thresholds and intensity-response functions to the basic stimuli and determined that-with the exception of HCl, to which the macaque is relatively insensitive-they were similar to those reported by human subjects. We then turned to the coding of taste quality, as inferred in macaques from the patterns of neural activity elicited by each of greater than 100 stimuli. The results proved generally faithful to human reports of the perceived qualities of these same tastants. Finally, an investigation of taste mixtures revealed a degree of mixture suppression and interaction among basic qualities similar to those reported by humans. We conclude that the alert macaque offers a reliable neural model for human gustation.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Innervation of taste buds in the canine larynx as revealed by immunohistochemistry for the various neurochemical markers.

The distribution and innervation of the canine laryngeal taste buds were observed using immunohistochemistry with antibodies against protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5) and neurofilament protein (NFP). We also observed the immunohistochemical distribution of serotonin, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and various neuropeptides including calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), substance P (SP), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), galanin, methionine enkephalin (ENK) and neuropeptide Y (NPY). The taste buds in the canine larynx were densely distributed in the mucosa at the basal portion of the epiglottis and cuneiform process of the arytenoid cartilage. The taste cells were immunoreactive for PGP 9.5 and serotonin. The nerve fibers with immunoreactivity for PGP 9.5 in the taste buds were observed in the perigemmal region and intra- and subgemmal plexuses, and these were classified into two types based on their diameter. The thick nerve fibers corresponded to the fibers immunoreactive for NFP, while the thin nerve fibers corresponded to the fibers immunoreactive for TH and various neuropeptides. Numerous nerve fibers immunoreactive for SP and CGRP were observed in the perigemmal region, and intra- and subgemmal plexuses. A few galanin- and ENK-immunoreactive nerve fibers were also observed in the taste buds, whereas NPY-immunoreactive nerve fibers were noted beneath them. All peptide-containing fibers except for VIP-immunoreactive nerves were situated in the subgemmal regions. In conclusion, the multiple innervation to the laryngeal taste buds were documented. Thick nerve fibers are likely to be irritant receptors, while thin varicose nerve fibers seem to regulate taste buds themselves. The laryngeal taste buds may be among the important structures which are sensitive to exogeneous chemical and/or mechanical stimuli, for the protection of the airway and the regulation of the respiratory function.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Pimozide does not shift palatability: separation of anhedonia from sensorimotor suppression by taste reactivity.

Several "taste reactivity" studies of dopamine and reward have concluded that pimozide suppresses the hedonic reaction patterns normally elicited by sucrose but enhances aversive reaction patterns elicited by quinine. However, other taste reactivity studies have failed to find hedonic/aversive shifts in reaction patterns after dopamine antagonists or dopamine lesions. The divergent conclusions have come from two different laboratories. To resolve the controversy regarding dopamine blockade and palatability, the present study joined the two laboratories to investigate the effect of pimozide on taste reactivity patterns elicited by sucrose and quinine. The results replicated many (but not all) of the earlier findings and identified procedural factors responsible for different outcomes. Overall, the results provide evidence for sensorimotor effects of pimozide on taste reactivity but not for a hedonic shift in palatability. Pimozide suppressed both hedonic and aversive reaction patterns in a gradual sensorimotor fashion when the eliciting taste stimulus was repeated or continued for several minutes. The general suppression typically did not alter the initial reaction to a taste but emerged only after an oral infusion of sucrose or quinine continued for several minutes or trials. Aversive reactions were never enhanced. The balance between hedonic and aversive reaction patterns was not shifted by pimozide. We conclude that pimozide produces a sensorimotor impairment of taste reactivity patterns but does not shift taste palatability toward anhedonia or aversion.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

A quantitative study of fungiform papillae and taste pore density in adults and children.

Male children (8-9 years) are reported to have a higher sensitivity than male adults to the sweet tastant sucrose when small regions of the anterior tongue are stimulated. The present study investigated the hypothesis that the higher sensitivity was due to a greater density of fungiform papillae and taste pores (buds), since it has been reported in adults that increased densities of these two structures correlates with increased taste suprathreshold sensitivity [Physiol. Behav. 47 (1990) 1213]. Quantitative measures of the number and size of papillae and pores in two areas of the tongue that had been shown to have a higher sensitivity for sucrose were achieved in 20 male children 8-9 years of age and 20 adults 18-30 years of age, using videomicroscopy and NIH Image software. Customized templates and a red food dye were used to define the equivalent tongue locations across the 40 subjects and taste pores were stained with methylene blue. Children were found to have substantially smaller papillae than adults but significantly higher papilla densities in both areas. Similar numbers of taste pores per papilla were found for both groups, resulting in children having much higher taste pore densities in each area than adults. Other differences included smaller taste pore diameters in children compared to adults, and the papillae tended to be rounder in children. Overall, the results support the hypothesis that the higher densities of fungiform papillae and taste pores in children underlie their greater sensitivity for sucrose in the two areas. In addition, the anatomical differences between adults and children indicate the sense of taste is in a state of development during mid-childhood.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Short-term and long-term excitability changes of the insular cortical neurons after the acquisition of taste aversion learning in behaving rats.

Conditioned taste aversion, a long-lasting type of learning established after a single pairing of a novel taste and subsequent internal malaise, is an adaptive behavior to prevent animals from repeated intakes of poisonous substances. The present study was designed to identify the time-dependent excitability changes of cortical neurons to gustatory stimuli after the acquisition of conditioned taste aversion in freely behaving rats. Conditioned taste aversion to saccharin was established by an intraperitoneal injection of lithium chloride, a sickness-inducing agent, soon after an intraoral infusion of saccharin. Twenty minutes after the pairing, 25 (29%) of 86 rats showed aversive taste reactivities to saccharin, and 30 min after the pairing, all of the rats showed aversive behaviors to saccharin; these behavioral changes lasted throughout the test session (over 360 min). When unit activities were recorded from the insular cortex simultaneously with the behavioral test, 14 (11%) of 122 neurons showed a significant enhancement of excitability in response to saccharin, but not to other taste stimuli, after the acquisition of taste aversion. Eight of these 14 neurons showed a short-term enhancement: significant effects were detected only 30 min after the pairing. The remaining six neurons exhibited a long-term enhancement: the effects lasted over 360 min after the pairing. The existence of such short-term and long-term excitability changes suggests that the gustatory insular cortex is involved in different aspects of taste aversion learning.

Animals↗