Taste Psychophysics

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究的长期目标是了解口腔感觉的遗传和病理变异对健康和生活质量的影响。味觉、口腔烧灼感（例如，酒精）和口腔触觉强度（例如，脂肪）显示出广泛的遗传变异，这与苦和甜脂肪食物，酒精和烟草的摄入行为有关。这些行为会影响癌症和心血管疾病的健康风险，但不同的人会面临不同的风险。例如，超级味觉者，谁经历强烈的苦味从6-正丙基硫氧嘧啶（PROP），避免苦味蔬菜含有保护性植物化学物质，这增加了某些癌症的风险（例如，乳房、结肠）。另一方面，味觉超敏者避免酒精和烟草，因为它们的苦味和口腔灼伤，从而降低了颅面肿瘤的风险。味觉输入集中抑制口腔疼痛和口腔触觉输入，确保在局部口腔损伤期间摄入。然而，这种反馈是有代价的，因为病理学可以通过去抑制来改变口腔感觉。味觉丧失会导致口腔灼伤和口腔触觉上升，并且可能会改变食物和其他行为（例如，吸烟、饮酒）。一些味觉超敏者也会有幻觉（例如，灼口综合症）;女性面临的风险特别大，因为她们比男性更有可能成为超级味觉者。最近的研究结果表明，味觉损伤损害鼻后嗅觉，改变风味感知和食物选择的方式，可能会促进脂肪摄入（例如，慢性耳部感染的超级品尝男性）。使用口腔麻醉的实验将进一步加深我们对这些机制的认识。我们的研究集中在个人和群体之间的口腔感觉的心理物理比较。传统的强度尺度往往扭曲这些关系，但我们的新方法使感官强度的准确组比较。最近分离出一个假定的PROP味觉受体基因，进一步扩展了我们从病理学中分离基因的能力。总之，我们现在有能力揭示口腔感官变化的全部范围及其对饮食和健康的影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term goal of this research is to understand the influence of genetic and pathological variation in oral sensations on health and quality of life. Taste, oral burn (e.g., alcohol) and oral tactile intensity (e.g., fats) show broad genetic variation, which is linked to intake behaviors for bitter and sweet-fat foods, alcohol, and tobacco. These behaviors influence health risks for cancer and cardiovascular disease, but different risks arise for different individuals. For example, supertasters, who experience intense bitter taste from 6-npropylthiouracil (PROP), avoid bitter vegetables containing protective phytochemicals, which increases risk for certain cancers (e.g., breast, colon). On the other hand, supertasters avoid alcohol and tobacco due to their bitterness and oral burn, thereby reducing risk for craniofacial tumors. Taste input inhibits oral pain and oral tactile inputs centrally, ensuring intake during localized oral injury. However, this feedback comes at a cost, as pathology can alter oral sensation via disinhibition. Taste loss causes oral burn and oral tactile sensations to rise, and it may alter food and other behaviors (e.g., smoking, alcohol use). Some supertasters also experience phantom sensations (e.g., burning mouth syndrome); women are at special risk because they are more likely to be supertasters than are men. Recent findings suggest that taste damage compromises retronasal olfaction, altering flavor perception and food choice in ways that may promote fat intake (e.g., chronic ear infections in supertasting men). Experiments using oral anesthesia will further our knowledge of these mechanisms. Our research focuses on psychophysical comparisons of oral sensation between individuals and groups. Conventional intensity scales often distort these relationships, but our new methodology enables accurate group comparisons of sensory intensity. Recent isolation of a putative PROP taste receptor gene further extends our ability to dissociate genes from pathology. In sum, we are now equipped to uncover the full range of oral sensory variation and its effects on diet and health.