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Calcium deficiency alters chorda tympani nerve responses to oral calcium chloride.

As a preliminary examination of the influence of calcium deficiency on gustatory sensitivity to calcium, we recorded electrophysiological responses of the chorda tympani nerve of calcium-replete and calcium-deprived rats. Relative to rats fed calcium-replete diet, rats fed low calcium diet had lower electrophysiological response thresholds to CaCl2 (300 vs. 30 microM) and calcium lactate (300 vs. 100 microM) but not NaCl. The calcium-deprived animals had a greater chorda tympani response to 30, 100 and 300 microM CaCl2 and 30 and 100 microM calcium lactate but a smaller chorda tympani response to 30, 100 and 300 mM CaCl2 and to 100 mM MgCl2. A behavioral study using an ascending series of 48-h two-bottle preference tests showed that the threshold for acceptance of CaCl2 was similar to the electrophysiological threshold (310 microM in replete rats, 100 microM in calcium-deprived rats). These findings raise the possibility that changes in calcium status influence the perception of calcium, which, in turn, influences calcium intake.

Animals↗

[Gut nutrient sensing by the abdominal vagus].

Gustatory and anticipatory cephalic stimuli that are detected during a meal yield nutritional information and aid in the efficient digestion of food. It is possible that animals can detect the amount of dietary food and its quality via cephalic relay to initiate proper digestion in the alimentary tract. The abdominal vagus conveys primary afferent nutritional information from the digestive system to the brain and modulates gastrointestinal motor and secretory activity that ensures the food digestion through local and central reflexes. Almost all the 5-HT in the body exists in the enterochromaffin (EC) cells in the alimentary tract, but the physiological significance of the mucosal 5-HT is not well elucidated. In the present paper, we reviewed recent advances in studies on gut nutrient perception and proposed the hypothesis that 5-HT derived from EC cells acts as a general transmitter of gut nutrient sensing by the abdominal vagus.

Enterochromaffin Cells↗

Reflections on the study of infant perception and cognition: what does Morgan's Canon really tell us to do?

This commentary on Needham's (2001, this issue) work focuses on the types of evidence needed to make inferences concerning infant cognition. It is helpful to consider the history of the positions that have been held by scientists who have tried to explain the cognitive abilities of animals, deemed to be so very different from adult humans, and in that regard, similar to infants. The justification of inference is not a matter of personal taste or the application of a rigid doctrine. Rather, the study of infant cognition requires a high level of creativity in the creation and testing of alternative explanations. By understanding lessons from our past, current researchers should be better able to conduct their studies and draw appropriate conclusions.

Child Development↗

Olfactory influences on appetite and satiety in humans.

Odor stimuli play a major role in perception of food flavor. Food-related odors have also been shown to increase rated appetite, and induce salivation and release of gastric acid and insulin. However, our ability to identify an odor as food-related, and our liking for food-related odors, are both learned responses. In conditioning studies, repeated experience of odors with sweet and sour tastes result in enhanced ratings of sensory quality of the paired taste for the odor on its own. More recent studies also report increased pleasantness ratings for odors paired with sucrose for participants who like sweet tastes, and conversely decreased liking and increased bitterness for quinine-paired odors. When odors were experienced in combination with sucrose when hungry, liking was not increased if tested sated, suggesting that expression of acquired liking for odors depends on current motivational state. Other studies report sensory-specific satiety is seen with food-related odors. Overall, these studies suggest that once an odor is experienced in a food-related context, that odor acquires the ability to modify both preparatory and satiety-related components of ingestion.

Appetite↗

Olfactory influences on appetite and satiety in humans.

Odor stimuli play a major role in perception of food flavor. Food-related odors have also been shown to increase rated appetite, and induce salivation and release of gastric acid and insulin. However, our ability to identify an odor as food-related, and our liking for food-related odors, are both learned responses. In conditioning studies, repeated experience of odors with sweet and sour tastes result in enhanced ratings of sensory quality of the paired taste for the odor on its own. More recent studies also report increased pleasantness ratings for odors paired with sucrose for participants who like sweet tastes, and conversely decreased liking and increased bitterness for quinine-paired odors. When odors were experienced in combination with sucrose when hungry, liking was not increased if tested sated, suggesting that expression of acquired liking for odors depends on current motivational state. Other studies report sensory-specific satiety is seen with food-related odors. Overall, these studies suggest that once an odor is experienced in a food-related context, that odor acquires the ability to modify both preparatory and satiety-related components of ingestion.

Journal Article↗

Chemosensory similarities among oils: does viscosity play a role?

It is widely thought that viscosity plays an important role in the perception of fats. Rats were conditioned to avoid oil suspensions by treating them with lithium chloride after they had ingested the oil suspension. Control rats received the same lithium chloride injection after they drank vehicle. Three, chemically different, oils were examined, triglyceride oil, silicone oil and mineral oil. Rats trained to avoid a 4% aqueous suspension of one of these oils, reliably avoided suspensions containing any of the other oils, although the rats could discriminate between the oils. The viscosity of the oil suspension was slightly greater than the viscosity of the vehicle alone. However, rats trained to avoid an oil suspension, did not avoid a fluid having a viscosity similar to that of the oil suspension. In order to assess the possibility that rats could sense the viscosity of the oil separately from that of the vehicle, rats were tested for their aversion to oils having viscosities much higher and much lower than that of the oil they were trained to avoid. Rats trained to avoid triolein having a viscosity of 67 cp, reliably avoided silicone oils having viscosities of 5 and 203 cp. However, rats trained to avoid oil did not avoid an oil-free fluid having a viscosity of 22-29 cp. A final experiment examined whether the use of viscous or non-viscous vehicles influenced the conditioned aversion. No significant effect of vehicle viscosity appeared. Thus, chemically-diverse oils are perceived, by rats, to have some perceptible attribute in common. It is proposed that this common physical attribute is boundary lubrication rather than viscosity.

Animals↗

Characterization of nutty flavor in cheddar cheese.

The objectives of this study were to determine the volatile components responsible for the sensory perception of nutty flavor in Cheddar cheese. Cheddar cheeses with and without nutty flavors were selected by descriptive sensory analysis. Volatile aroma components from Cheddar cheeses with and without nutty flavors were isolated and characterized using solvent extraction with high vacuum distillation, dynamic headspace analysis, gas chromatography-olfactometry, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. More than 50 aroma-active compounds were detected in Cheddar cheeses. Consistent differences were observed between nutty and not nutty Cheddar cheeses. Strecker aldehydes were detected in higher amounts in Cheddar cheeses with nutty flavors compared with Cheddar cheeses without nutty flavors. Strecker aldehydes, dimethyl sulfide, and propionic acid were evaluated in young and aged Cheddar cheese models for nutty flavor by descriptive sensory analysis. Dimethyl sulfide and propionic acid did not contribute to nutty flavor in Cheddar cheese. The addition of Strecker aldehydes to young (<4 mo old) Cheddar cheese models resulted in nutty/malty flavor perceived by sensory analysis. When Strecker aldehydes were incorporated into aged (>9 mo old) Cheddar cheese models, nutty flavor perception increased. Strecker aldehydes contribute to nutty flavor in aged Cheddar cheese.

Aldehydes↗

Combating the epidemic of obesity and cardiovascular disease: perspectives from school-aged children.

This study was designed to assess students' perceptions of the obstacles to positive dietary practices and increased physical activity and to solicit the students' recommendations for addressing and possibly reducing the negative practices that are associated with the rise in obesity and the development of cardiovascular diseases. Data for the study were obtained from the administration of the 2005 Project Health High School Survey (PHHSS) which measured the students' perceptions regarding obstacles to eating more nutritious, healthier foods and obstacles to participating in daily physical activity. The reasons for students' lack of interest in practicing more life-healthy behaviors are ranked and recorded. Some of the students indicated that they usually ate what they liked to eat, and the decision about what to eat was made because of the taste of the food without regard for any health consequence or negative health outcomes. Finding ways to reach these students at their young ages is the key to successfully combating the high prevalence of obesity and the development of other chronic diseases in childhood, as well as in adulthood.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗

[French version of TASTE (test for the ability and evaluation)].

Ability to study and evaluation is only one example of performance among many others but research and publications concerning this issue for more than 50 years, especially in the context of test anxiety and need of achievement, conferred upon it a prototypical dimension. Investigations about motivation also stimulate many scientists and constitute another foundation of this study (13). The level of performance depends on knowledge and motivation (33). Time devoted to study is essential to succeed; so motivation and procrastination are in competition. The importance of reinforcement (extrinsical motivation) and the desire for learning and knowing (intrinsical motivation) are determinant. Other elements must be emphasized: guarantee of obtaining rewards, self efficacy and causal attribution. These considerations point out the multidimensional and interactive aspects of test anxiety (7, 31). The number of components is not described unanimously but experts agree with emotional, cognitive and behavioral dimensions (25). So, anxiety was approached in its motivational properties, and it was the case until the sixties, in terms of drive corresponding to a need like thirst or hunger (18); then it was conceptualized in a dynamic context broader than that of stress and coping (29, 30). Last, it constitutes the object of theories highlighting cognitive interference (9, 23, 26) or defective skills (8, 32). A lot of questionnaires were built without answering the different aspects and for instance without linking the theoretical and therapeutic components concerning this problem. Committed to the traditional fields of research (test anxiety and need of achievement), to Weiner's work about attribution theory (34) and that of Bandura in self efficacy (4, 5), E. Depreeuw (10) was particularly interested in Heckhausen's model (16, 17), trying to associate experimental conceptions with the clinical reality. On this basis, he elaborated the TASTE (10, 12, 20): test for ability to study and evaluation. At first constituted of 121 items, the self-questionnaire, after factorial analysis, was reduced to 78 items assessing 4 factors which represent the 8 components of Heckhausen's model (16). The first factor (30 items) concerns anxiety in its emotional and cognitive characteristics. Interesting data were observed by Depreeuw and confirmed in the Netherlands and in Greece (19), especially the fact that anxiety of girls is higher than that of boys when they are confronted with an exam. The second one (19 items) represents self-confidence: confidence in ability to succeed and on using adequate strategies. The third factor (14 items) squared with value attributed to performance. It especially comments on the intrinsical component of motivation. The fourth factor (15 items) corresponds to procrastination; study is postponed on behalf of activities which actually reduce the achievement process. The self-report questionnaire (where answers run from total disagreement to total agreement whether they correspond to the way of thinking or acting) takes account of the emotional, cognitive and behavioral dimensions of the model. The multidimensional aspect of this questionnaire, but mainly its connections with theory and clinic, are convincing; we adopted it with other tests in research about fear of failure. Validation of the French translation is the subject of this article. In order to realize this operation, we chose the initial version of TASTE (121 items) to assess a Belgian sample of french-speaking students in the first year of University of Liège (n = 617). They are differentiated by gender, faculty (Economy, Medicine, Philosophy, Psychology, Applied Sciences) and experience of failure, i.e. the fact of repeating a school year. Statistics were realized with SPSS and SAS. A comprehension test and a back translation are satisfactory. The stability over time too: the one week test-retest was achieved with a sample of 33 student nurses; comparing the factors two by two, intra-class correlations ranged from 0.5 to 0.95. The component analysis with Varimax rotation does not allow us to find the four factors of construction. We obtain the same disappointing results with the version of 78 items. According to the screentest, we adopted the solution of five factors which confirms the original construction. A fifth particularly strong factor (Cronbach's alpha 0.82) corresponds to devalorisation. The internal reliability is very satisfactory. If we consider the items strong loading (more than 0.30), the French version is constituted of 94 items. If we consider the items which are specifically loading each factor, we can reduce the questionnaire to 50 items. Internal reliability remains the same. Correlations between the data obtained with this brief version are satisfactory; comparing the factors in pairs. Pearson's coefficients range from 0.8 to 0.89. The study of E. Depreeuw was realized ten years ago with a Belgian sample of Flemish-speaking students; is the cultural context or an evolution in test anxiety which explains such a difference in the results? We are now assessing a sample in another country which used the TASTE in 1996 in order to have some information about comparison of samples. In any case, the questionnaire of E. Depreeuw respects the multidimensional aspect of test anxiety. Our choice of 5 factors according to principal components confirms the original structure of the test but also discriminates another factor which could be predictive of psychopathology (panic, depression). This new dimension measures negative perception of ability and achievement especially when compared with other students. One aim of such a study is to discern clusters of students i.e. groups of students with characteristics such as Covington (7), Depreeuw (20) and Zeidner (35) describe them. This description is very important; the French version is only a part of a very broader study including other tests and could differentiate student's profiles. The French version of 5 factors finally gives results in agreement with the original. The items (10 per factor) are selected according to their highest specificity and after elimination of redundancy. Validity remains in the short version, making it more useful in clinical practice.

Adolescent↗

Some aspects of sensory properties of food that relate to food habits and associated problems of elderly consumers.

A questionnaire was developed and administered to 30 elderly consumers to explore perceptions about sensory properties of food that relate to food habits and food-related problems. Fifty percent of the survey sample believed that their food habits had changed considerably in the past 10 years, and 47% believed that health problems influenced their food selection. Few reported changes in food preparation because of mastication problems. Approximately half believed that foods smelled and tasted as good to them now as foods did when the consumers were young. Sensory properties of food were significantly (p less than or equal to .05) more important than several other factors in making purchase decisions for food preparation in three specific social contexts.

Aged↗

Bitterness in wine.

Bitterness in wine is elicited primarily by flavonoid phenols, which are bitter and astringent, and by ethanol. Monomeric flavonoid phenols are primarily bitter but as the molecular weight increases upon polymerization, astringency increases more rapidly than bitterness. The chiral difference between the two wine flavan-3-ol monomers produces a significant difference in temporal perception of bitterness: (-)-epicatechin is significantly more bitter and had significantly longer duration of bitterness than (+)-catechin. Ethanol enhances bitterness intensity and duration, whereas varying wine pH has little or no effect on perceived bitterness. Whereas PROP status had no significant effect on temporal perception of bitterness or astringency, subjects with low salivary flow rates took longer to reach maximum bitterness and astringency intensity and reported longer persistence of both attributes than high-flow subjects.

Ethanol↗

Once more: is beauty in the eye of the beholder? Relative contributions of private and shared taste to judgments of facial attractiveness.

Misconstruing the meaning of Cronbach's alpha, experts on facial attractiveness have conveyed the impression that facial-attractiveness judgment standards are largely shared. This claim is unsubstantiated, because information necessary for deciding whether judgments of facial attractiveness are more influenced by commonly shared or by privately held evaluation standards is lacking. Three experiments, using diverse face and rater samples to investigate the relative contributions of private and shared taste to judgments of facial attractiveness, are reported. These experiments show that for a variety of ancillary conditions, and contrary to the prevalent notion in the literature, private taste is about as powerful as shared taste. Important implications for scientific research strategy and laypeople's self-esteem are discussed.

Adolescent↗

Intensity and duration of amnesia from intravenous midazolam given for sedation.

A clinical study was performed investigating the ability of intravenous midazolam to cause amnesia for visual, auditory and painful stimuli presented during surgical removal of third molars. Various stimuli were presented prior to and after administration of a sufficient quantity of midazolam to produce profound sedation. Recall was then tested immediately after, one day, and one week following the surgery. The study found that midazolam produces at least 20 minutes of profound amnesia for all stimuli in 93 +/- 6% of individuals. However, little correlation was found between the dose of midazolam and the duration of amnesia. Anesthesia literally means the loss of sensation. In the clinical dental situation, the principle sensation lost, when using either regional or general anesthesia, is pain perception. Although prevention of pain sensation is the primary reason patients request local anesthesia prior to invasive dental care, for many patients, control of pain only partially prepares them to receive dental care. These patients request the adjunctive use of sedation or general anesthesia, not for further pain control, but rather requiring periodontal or oral/maxillofacial surgery in which such factors as the sight and taste of blood, the noise of bone-cutting equipment, or the pressure placed on the jaws is not eliminated by local anesthetics. Although effective anxiolytic oral, inhalational, or parenteral agents have been available for several decades, patients still usually retain their memory of events occurring during their dental care, particularly anxiety-provoking events. This memory of the uncomfortable portions of dental care stimulates additional anxiety so that patients may procrastinate when dental care is necessary.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amnesia↗

Analysis of volatile compounds and their contribution to flavor in cereals.

Recent developments in methods for isolation and measurement of volatiles from cereals are reviewed. The main types of isolation methods, namely, direct extraction, distillation, and headspace, have recently been complemented by solid phase microextraction. Direct solvent extraction provides efficient recovery of compounds with a broad range of polarities and volatilities, whereas headspace techniques provide relatively clean extracts. Supercritical fluid and solid phase microextractions have not yet been fully evaluated for cereals. GC and GC/MS remain the dominant techniques for measurement of the extracted compounds, although new electronic noses show promise. Relating these results to human perception requires careful control to ensure valid comparisons and, in this respect, aroma extract dilution analysis is a useful procedure.

Chromatography, Gas↗

Haptic to visual cross-modal recognition of objects in the vervet monkey.

Five juvenile vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) were tested using the Cowey and Weiskrantz technique. The animals had access in the dark to distasteful biscuits of one shape and tasteful biscuits of another shape. Later they were shown a pair of biscuits, one of each shape, and the animal’s first selection was scored. A single pair of shapes was used with flavor assigned daily according to a Gellerman schedule. In 69 percent of trials the monkeys selected the tasteful shape (P less than 0.001). The performance in the second half of testing was higher than in the beginning which suggests that some kind of learning set develops.

Animals↗

Cross-adaptation and bitterness inhibition of L-tryptophan, L-phenylalanine and urea: further support for shared peripheral physiology.

A previous study investigating individuals' bitterness sensitivities found a close association among three compounds: L-tryptophan (L-trp), L-phenylalanine (L-phe) and urea (Delwiche et al., 2001, Percept. Psychophys. 63, 761-776). In the present experiment, psychophysical cross-adaptation and bitterness inhibition experiments were performed on these three compounds to determine whether the bitterness could be differentially affected by either technique. If the two experimental approaches failed to differentiate L-trp, L-phe and urea's bitterness, then we may infer they share peripheral physiological mechanisms involved in bitter taste. All compounds were intensity matched in each of 13 subjects, so the judgments of adaptation or bitterness inhibition would be based on equal initial magnitudes and, therefore, directly comparable. In the first experiment, cross-adaptation of bitterness between the amino acids was high (>80%) and reciprocal. Urea and quinine-HCl (control) did not cross-adapt with the amino acids symmetrically. In a second experiment, the sodium salts, NaCl and Na gluconate, did not differentially inhibit the bitterness of L-trp, L-phe and urea, but the control compound, MgSO(4), was differentially affected. The bitter inhibition experiment supports the hypothesis that L-trp, L-phe and urea share peripheral bitter taste mechanisms, while the adaptation experiment revealed subtle differences between urea and the amino acids indicating that urea and the amino acids activate only partially overlapping bitter taste mechanisms.

Adaptation, Physiological↗