Chemesthesis and taste: evidence of independent processing of sensation intensity - PubMed

Chemesthesis and taste: evidence of independent processing of sensation intensity

Barry G Green et al. Physiol Behav. 2005.

Abstract

The ability to perceive taste from temperature alone ("thermal taste") was recently shown to predict higher perceptual responsiveness to gustatory and olfactory stimuli. This relationship was hypothesized to be due in part to individual differences in CNS processes involved in flavor perception. Here we report three experiments that tested whether subjects who differ in responsiveness to thermal taste and/or chemical taste also differ in responsiveness to oral chemesthesis. In experiment 1, subjects identified as 'thermal tasters' (TTs) or 'thermal non-tasters' (TnTs) used the general Labeled Magnitude Scale to rate the intensity of sensations produced on the tongue tip by capsaicin, menthol, sucrose, NaCl, citric acid, and QSO4. TTs rated all four taste stimuli higher than did TnTs, whereas sensations of burning/stinging/pricking and temperature from capsaicin and menthol did not differ significantly between groups. In experiment 2, testing with capsaicin on both the front and back of the tongue confirmed there was no difference in ratings of burning/stinging/pricking when subjects were grouped according to the ability to perceive thermal taste. In experiment 3, subjects were classified as high- or low-tasters according to their ratings of sucrose sweetness rather than thermal taste. No group difference was found for perception of capsaicin even when presented in mixture with sucrose or NaCl. The results are discussed in the context of previous evidence of an association between chemesthesis and sensitivity to the bitter tastant PROP, and in terms of the various peripheral and central neural processes that may underlie intensity perception in taste and chemesthesis.

Similar articles

• Thermal taste, PROP responsiveness, and perception of oral sensations.

  Bajec MR, Pickering GJ. Bajec MR, et al. Physiol Behav. 2008 Nov 28;95(4):581-90. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2008.08.009. Epub 2008 Aug 22. Physiol Behav. 2008. PMID: 18773913 Clinical Trial.

• 'Thermal taste' predicts higher responsiveness to chemical taste and flavor.

  Green BG, George P. Green BG, et al. Chem Senses. 2004 Sep;29(7):617-28. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjh065. Chem Senses. 2004. PMID: 15337686 Clinical Trial.

• Capsaicin as a probe of the relationship between bitter taste and chemesthesis.

  Green BG, Hayes JE. Green BG, et al. Physiol Behav. 2003 Sep;79(4-5):811-21. doi: 10.1016/s0031-9384(03)00213-0. Physiol Behav. 2003. PMID: 12954427 Clinical Trial.

• Neural coding of gustatory information.

  Smith DV, St John SJ. Smith DV, et al. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 1999 Aug;9(4):427-35. doi: 10.1016/S0959-4388(99)80064-6. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 1999. PMID: 10448155 Review.

• [Methods of taste sensitivity examination].

  Klimacka-Nawrot E, Suchecka W. Klimacka-Nawrot E, et al. Wiad Lek. 2008;61(7-9):207-10. Wiad Lek. 2008. PMID: 19172833 Review. Polish.

Cited by

• Variation in thermally induced taste response across thermal tasters.

  Skinner M, Eldeghaidy S, Ford R, Giesbrecht T, Thomas A, Francis S, Hort J. Skinner M, et al. Physiol Behav. 2018 May 1;188:67-78. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.01.017. Epub 2018 Feb 2. Physiol Behav. 2018. PMID: 29410235 Free PMC article.

• In pursuit of taste phenotypes.

  Green BG. Green BG. Chem Senses. 2013 May;38(4):289-92. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjt007. Epub 2013 Feb 21. Chem Senses. 2013. PMID: 23429242 Free PMC article.

• Identification of an Amygdala-Thalamic Circuit That Acts as a Central Gain Mechanism in Taste Perceptions.

  Veldhuizen MG, Farruggia MC, Gao X, Nakamura Y, Green BG, Small DM. Veldhuizen MG, et al. J Neurosci. 2020 Jun 24;40(26):5051-5062. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2618-19.2020. Epub 2020 May 5. J Neurosci. 2020. PMID: 32371606 Free PMC article.

• Sweet Thermal Taste: Perceptual Characteristics in Water and Dependence on TAS1R2/TAS1R3.

  Nachtigal D, Green BG. Nachtigal D, et al. Chem Senses. 2020 Apr 17;45(3):219-230. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjaa009. Chem Senses. 2020. PMID: 32072157 Free PMC article.

• Video fluoroscopic techniques for the study of Oral Food Processing.

  Matsuo K, Palmer JB. Matsuo K, et al. Curr Opin Food Sci. 2016 Jun;9:1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.cofs.2016.03.004. Curr Opin Food Sci. 2016. PMID: 27213138 Free PMC article.

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances