Variation in thermally induced taste response across thermal tasters

Thermal tasters (TTs) perceive thermally induced taste (thermal taste) sensations when the tongue is stimulated with temperature in the absence of gustatory stimuli, while thermal non tasters (TnTs) only perceive temperature. This is the first study to explore detailed differences in thermal taste r...

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Main Authors: Skinner, Martha, Eldeghaidy, Sally, Ford, Rebecca, Giesbrecht, Timo, Thomas, Anna, Francis, Susan T., Hort, Joanne
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49304/
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author Skinner, Martha
Eldeghaidy, Sally
Ford, Rebecca
Giesbrecht, Timo
Thomas, Anna
Francis, Susan T.
Hort, Joanne
author_facet Skinner, Martha
Eldeghaidy, Sally
Ford, Rebecca
Giesbrecht, Timo
Thomas, Anna
Francis, Susan T.
Hort, Joanne
author_sort Skinner, Martha
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Thermal tasters (TTs) perceive thermally induced taste (thermal taste) sensations when the tongue is stimulated with temperature in the absence of gustatory stimuli, while thermal non tasters (TnTs) only perceive temperature. This is the first study to explore detailed differences in thermal taste responses across TTs. Using thermal taster status phenotyping, 37 TTs were recruited, and the temporal characteristics of thermal taste responses collected during repeat exposure to temperature stimulation. Phenotyping found sweet most frequently reported during warming stimulation, and bitter and sour when cooling, but a range of other sensations were stated. The taste quality, intensity, and number of tastes reported greatly varied. Furthermore, the temperature range when thermal taste was perceived differed across TTs and taste qualities, with some TTs perceiving a taste for a small temperature range, and others the whole trial. The onset of thermal sweet taste ranged between 22 and 38°C during temperature increase. This supports the hypothesis that TRPM5 may be involved in thermal sweet taste perception as TRPM5 is temperature activated between 15-35°C, and involved in sweet taste transduction. These findings also raised questions concerning the phenotyping protocol and classification currently used, thus indicating the need to review practices for future testing. This study has highlighted the hitherto unknown variation that exists in thermal taste response across TTs, provides some insights into possible mechanisms, and importantly emphasises the need for more research into this sensory phenomenon.
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spelling nottingham-493042020-05-08T09:30:17Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49304/ Variation in thermally induced taste response across thermal tasters Skinner, Martha Eldeghaidy, Sally Ford, Rebecca Giesbrecht, Timo Thomas, Anna Francis, Susan T. Hort, Joanne Thermal tasters (TTs) perceive thermally induced taste (thermal taste) sensations when the tongue is stimulated with temperature in the absence of gustatory stimuli, while thermal non tasters (TnTs) only perceive temperature. This is the first study to explore detailed differences in thermal taste responses across TTs. Using thermal taster status phenotyping, 37 TTs were recruited, and the temporal characteristics of thermal taste responses collected during repeat exposure to temperature stimulation. Phenotyping found sweet most frequently reported during warming stimulation, and bitter and sour when cooling, but a range of other sensations were stated. The taste quality, intensity, and number of tastes reported greatly varied. Furthermore, the temperature range when thermal taste was perceived differed across TTs and taste qualities, with some TTs perceiving a taste for a small temperature range, and others the whole trial. The onset of thermal sweet taste ranged between 22 and 38°C during temperature increase. This supports the hypothesis that TRPM5 may be involved in thermal sweet taste perception as TRPM5 is temperature activated between 15-35°C, and involved in sweet taste transduction. These findings also raised questions concerning the phenotyping protocol and classification currently used, thus indicating the need to review practices for future testing. This study has highlighted the hitherto unknown variation that exists in thermal taste response across TTs, provides some insights into possible mechanisms, and importantly emphasises the need for more research into this sensory phenomenon. Elsevier 2018-05-01 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by_nc_nd https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49304/1/ACCEPTED_Skinner%20et%20al_eprints.pdf Skinner, Martha, Eldeghaidy, Sally, Ford, Rebecca, Giesbrecht, Timo, Thomas, Anna, Francis, Susan T. and Hort, Joanne (2018) Variation in thermally induced taste response across thermal tasters. Physiology & Behavior, 188 . pp. 67-78. ISSN 1873-507X thermal taster; thermal taste; TRPM5; taste phenotype https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938418300246 doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.01.017 doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.01.017
spellingShingle thermal taster; thermal taste; TRPM5; taste phenotype
Skinner, Martha
Eldeghaidy, Sally
Ford, Rebecca
Giesbrecht, Timo
Thomas, Anna
Francis, Susan T.
Hort, Joanne
Variation in thermally induced taste response across thermal tasters
title Variation in thermally induced taste response across thermal tasters
title_full Variation in thermally induced taste response across thermal tasters
title_fullStr Variation in thermally induced taste response across thermal tasters
title_full_unstemmed Variation in thermally induced taste response across thermal tasters
title_short Variation in thermally induced taste response across thermal tasters
title_sort variation in thermally induced taste response across thermal tasters
topic thermal taster; thermal taste; TRPM5; taste phenotype
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49304/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49304/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49304/