NEURAL SOURCES OF DYSGEUSIA

味觉障碍是一种不受欢迎的慢性味觉障碍(类似于慢性疼痛)，是一种疾病 这降低了生活质量。对慢性阻塞性肺疾病患者的评价 智力障碍导致了一种诊断方案的开发，旨在 突出说明地方病的特征变化，这可能会提供 关于其原因的线索。该协议使用了空间品尝测试 设计用于评估供应味觉的脑神经的完整性 以及一项局部麻醉测试，旨在揭示 脑神经(最先由Halpern和Nelson在动物体内发现 模型)。 提出了三组关于性交障碍的研究(通常 咸的或金属的)起源于味觉神经系统(在这里 这种情况下，味觉障碍被称为味觉幻影)。第一批 研究对象是脑神经vii的患者。 在手术中不可避免地牺牲了。累及脑神经的手术 VII提供了一个实验机会来研究由 切断膝状神经节的中心和周围， 它包含了维持七号细胞存活的细胞体。什么时候 听神经瘤手术中必须牺牲vii，伤口位于中央 膝状神经节。这会导致伤口的沃勒变性 到达大脑，从而使中枢神经元失去神经。当vii必须是 在腓骨切除术或乳突切除术中牺牲，切开是在 膝状神经节。这会导致沃勒变性，从伤口到 舌头。从伤口的中心侧发芽可能会导致 神经瘤的形成。拟议研究的一个目标是量化 这两种神经割伤的幻影有什么不同 这可能归因于由 切。对患有VI型颈椎病患者的标本进行解剖评估 可能会提供更多相关信息。 第二组研究将调查一种新型的味觉幻影 已经在实验室里生产出来了。鼓索神经(A 舌前支)支配舌前部。当这根神经 在鼓膜处单侧麻醉(通过在鼓膜上注射 耳道)，则会出现味觉幻影(在大约一半的受试者中 麻醉的)麻醉的一侧的对侧 舌(由舌咽神经支配)。幻影 不同受试者生产的产品质量不同，如果麻醉被取消 直接放置在出现幻影的区域上。这 味觉局部受损的患者可能会出现某种幻觉。 味觉幻影是一种主观体验，但第三组研究 使用功能磁共振成像(FMRI)可以提供 客观测量的相关性。因为大脑的一侧被激活 麻醉诱导的味觉幻象可以是多种多样的，这些幻象提供了 在功能磁共振研究中的重要实验优势。

Dysgeusia, an unwanted, chronic taste (akin to chronic pain), is a disorder that diminishes the quality of life. The evaluation of patients with dysgeusia has led to the development of a diagnostic protocol intended to highlight variations in the characteristics of dysgeusias which may provide clues concerning their causes. The protocol uses a spatial taste test designed to evaluate the integrity of the cranial nerves subserving taste and a topical anesthesia test designed to reveal inhibitory relations among those cranial nerves (first discovered by Halpern and Nelson in an animal model). Three groups of studies are proposed which concern dysgeusias (usually salty or metallic) that originate within the taste nervous system (in this case the dysgeusias are referred to as taste phantoms). The first group of studies are to be conducted on patients in whom cranial nerve VII is unavoidably sacrificed during surgery. Surgeries involving cranial nerve VII offer an experimental opportunity to study taste phantoms produced by cutting VII both central to and peripheral to the geniculate ganglion, which contains the cell bodies that keep the neurons in VII viable. When VII must be sacrificed during acoustic neuroma surgery, the cut is central to the geniculate ganglion. This causes Wallerian degeneration from the cut to the brain and thus denervates the central neurons. When VII must be sacrificed during stapedectomy or mastoidectomy, the cut is peripheral to the geniculate ganglion. This causes Wallerian degeneration from the cut to the tongue. Sprouting from the central side of the cut may lead to the formation of a neuroma. One goal of the proposed research is to quantify any differences between the phantoms from these two sorts of nerve cuts that might be attributable to the nature of the pathology induced by the cut. Anatomical evaluation of samples of VII from patients in whom it has been sacrificed may provide additional relevant information. The second group of studies will investigate a new type of taste phantom that has been produced in the laboratory. The chorda tympanic nerve (a branch of VII) innervates the anterior tongue. When this nerve is unilaterally anesthetized at the tympani membrane (via an injection in the ear canal), a taste phantom occurs (in about half of the subjects so anesthetized) contralateral to the side anesthetized on the rear of the tongue (innervated by the glossopharyngeal nerve, IX). The phantoms produced vary in quality across subjects and are abolished if anesthesia is placed directly on the area from which the phantom appears to arise. This kind of phantom may occur in patients who suffer localized damage to taste. Taste phantoms are subjective experiences, but a third group of studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) may provide an objectively measured correlate. Since the side of the brain activated by the anesthesia-induced taste phantoms can be varied, these phantoms offer important experimental advantages in fMRI studies.