Taste Psychophysics

描述(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、口腔灼伤(如酒精)和口腔触觉强度(如脂肪)显示出广泛的遗传差异，这与摄入苦味和甜味脂肪的食物、酒精和烟草的行为有关。这些行为会影响癌症和心血管疾病的健康风险，但不同的人会出现不同的风险。例如，品尝过6-丙基硫氧嘧啶(Prop)带来强烈苦味的超级品尝者，会避免含有保护性植物化学物质的苦味蔬菜，这会增加某些癌症(如乳腺癌、结肠癌)的风险。另一方面，超级味觉者避免饮酒和烟草，因为它们有苦味和口腔灼伤，从而降低了患头面部肿瘤的风险。味觉输入集中抑制口腔疼痛和口腔触觉输入，确保局部口腔损伤期间的摄入。然而，这种反馈是有代价的，因为病理可以通过去抑制改变口腔感觉。味觉丧失会导致口腔灼伤和口腔触觉增加，并可能改变食物和其他行为(如吸烟、饮酒)。一些味觉超级者也会有幻觉(例如，灼口综合症)；女性的风险特别大，因为她们比男性更有可能成为味觉超级者。最近的发现表明，味觉损伤会损害鼻后嗅觉，改变味道感知和食物选择，从而可能促进脂肪摄取(例如，品尝过高的男性发生慢性耳朵感染)。使用口腔麻醉的实验将进一步加深我们对这些机制的了解。我们的研究侧重于个体和群体之间口感的心理物理比较。传统的强度量表经常扭曲这些关系，但我们的新方法能够对感觉强度进行准确的群体比较。最近分离出一个可能的道具味觉受体基因，进一步扩展了我们将基因与病理分离的能力。总而言之，我们现在已经准备好揭示各种口腔感官变化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.