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、口腔灼烧感（如酒精）和口腔触觉强度（如脂肪）显示出广泛的遗传变异，这与摄入苦味和甜味脂肪食物、酒精和烟草的行为有关。这些行为会影响患癌症和心血管疾病的健康风险，但不同的个体会产生不同的风险。例如，味觉超常者会从6-丙基硫脲嘧啶（PROP）中感受到强烈的苦味，他们会避免食用含有保护性植物化学物质的苦味蔬菜，因为它们会增加患某些癌症（如乳腺癌、结肠癌）的风险。另一方面，味觉超常者由于酒精和烟草的苦味和口腔灼烧感而避免它们，从而降低了患颅面肿瘤的风险。味觉输入集中抑制口腔疼痛和口腔触觉输入，保证局部口腔损伤时的摄入。然而，这种反馈是有代价的，因为病理可以通过解除抑制来改变口腔感觉。味觉丧失导致口腔灼烧和口腔触觉增强，并可能改变饮食和其他行为（如吸烟、饮酒）。一些味觉超常者还会有幻觉（如灼口综合征）；女性有特殊的风险，因为她们比男性更有可能是超级味觉者。最近的研究结果表明，味觉损伤损害了鼻后嗅觉，改变了味觉感知和食物选择，从而可能促进脂肪的摄入（例如，味觉超常的男性会出现慢性耳部感染）。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。我们的研究重点是个体和群体之间口腔感觉的心理物理比较。传统的强度量表经常扭曲这些关系，但我们的新方法能够准确地进行感官强度的组比较。最近对一种假定的PROP味觉受体基因的分离进一步扩展了我们将基因与病理分离的能力。总之，我们现在有能力揭示口腔感觉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.