1
|
Budzinska A, Teysseire F, Flad E, Dupont P, Wölnerhanssen B, Meyer-Gerspach AC, Van Oudenhove L, Weltens N. Neural responses to oral administration of erythritol vs. sucrose and sucralose explain differences in subjective liking ratings. Appetite 2024; 200:107422. [PMID: 38788930 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2024.107422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION High sugar intake is associated with many chronic diseases. However, non-caloric sweeteners (NCSs) might fail to successfully replace sucrose due to the mismatch between their rewarding sweet taste and lack of caloric content. The natural NCS erythritol has been proposed as a sugar substitute due to its satiating properties despite being non-caloric. We aimed to compare brain responses to erythritol vs. sucrose and the artificial NCS sucralose in a priori taste, homeostatic, and reward brain regions of interest (ROIs). METHODS We performed a within-subject, single-blind, counterbalanced fMRI study in 30 healthy men (mean ± SEM age:24.3 ± 0.8 years, BMI:22.3 ± 0.3 kg/m2). Before scanning, we individually matched the concentrations of both NCSs to the perceived sweetness intensity of a 10% sucrose solution. During scanning, participants received 1 mL sips of the individually titrated equisweet solutions of sucrose, erythritol, and sucralose, as well as water. After each sip, they rated subjective sweetness liking. RESULTS Liking ratings were significantly higher for sucrose and sucralose vs. erythritol (both pHolm = 0.0037); water ratings were neutral. General Linear Model (GLM) analyses of brain blood oxygen level-depended (BOLD) responses at qFDR<0.05 showed no differences between any of the sweeteners in a priori ROIs, but distinct differences were found between the individual sweeteners and water. These results were confirmed by Bayesian GLM and machine learning-based models. However, several brain response patterns mediating the differences in liking ratings between the sweeteners were found in whole-brain multivariate mediation analyses. Both subjective and neural responses showed large inter-subject variability. CONCLUSION We found lower liking ratings in response to oral administration of erythritol vs. sucrose and sucralose, but no differences in neural responses between any of the sweeteners in a priori ROIs. However, differences in liking ratings between erythritol vs. sucrose or sucralose are mediated by multiple whole-brain response patterns.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Budzinska
- Laboratory for Brain-Gut Axis Studies (LaBGAS), Translational Research in Gastrointestinal Disorders (TARGID), Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism (CHROMETA), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Fabienne Teysseire
- St. Clara Research Ltd at St. Claraspital, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Faculty of Medicine, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Emilie Flad
- St. Clara Research Ltd at St. Claraspital, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Faculty of Medicine, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Patrick Dupont
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Laboratory for Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bettina Wölnerhanssen
- St. Clara Research Ltd at St. Claraspital, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Faculty of Medicine, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Anne Christin Meyer-Gerspach
- St. Clara Research Ltd at St. Claraspital, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Faculty of Medicine, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Lukas Van Oudenhove
- Laboratory for Brain-Gut Axis Studies (LaBGAS), Translational Research in Gastrointestinal Disorders (TARGID), Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism (CHROMETA), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab (CANlab), Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, USA
| | - Nathalie Weltens
- Laboratory for Brain-Gut Axis Studies (LaBGAS), Translational Research in Gastrointestinal Disorders (TARGID), Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism (CHROMETA), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Agostino CS, Merkel C, Ball F, Vavra P, Hinrichs H, Noesselt T. Seeing and extrapolating motion trajectories share common informative activation patterns in primary visual cortex. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:1389-1406. [PMID: 36288211 PMCID: PMC9921241 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Revised: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The natural environment is dynamic and moving objects become constantly occluded, engaging the brain in a challenging completion process to estimate where and when the object might reappear. Although motion extrapolation is critical in daily life-imagine crossing the street while an approaching car is occluded by a larger standing vehicle-its neural underpinnings are still not well understood. While the engagement of low-level visual cortex during dynamic occlusion has been postulated, most of the previous group-level fMRI-studies failed to find evidence for an involvement of low-level visual areas during occlusion. In this fMRI-study, we therefore used individually defined retinotopic maps and multivariate pattern analysis to characterize the neural basis of visible and occluded changes in motion direction in humans. To this end, participants learned velocity-direction change pairings (slow motion-upwards; fast motion-downwards or vice versa) during a training phase without occlusion and judged the change in stimulus direction, based on its velocity, during a following test phase with occlusion. We find that occluded motion direction can be predicted from the activity patterns during visible motion within low-level visual areas, supporting the notion of a mental representation of motion trajectory in these regions during occlusion.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Camila Silveira Agostino
- Department of Biological Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.,European Structural and Investment Funds-International Graduate School (ESF-GS) Analysis, Imaging, and Modeling of Neuronal and Inflammatory Processes (ABINEP) International Graduate School, Otto-Von-Guericke-University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Christian Merkel
- Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Felix Ball
- Department of Biological Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.,Centre for Behavioural Brain Sciences, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Peter Vavra
- Department of Biological Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Hermann Hinrichs
- Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany.,Centre for Behavioural Brain Sciences, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Magdeburg, Germany.,Department of Behavioural Neurology, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Toemme Noesselt
- Department of Biological Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.,Centre for Behavioural Brain Sciences, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Magdeburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Abstract
Taste information is encoded in the gustatory nervous system much as in other sensory systems, with notable exceptions. The concept of adequate stimulus is common to all sensory modalities, from somatosensory to auditory, visual, and so forth. That is, sensory cells normally respond only to one particular form of stimulation, the adequate stimulus, such as photons (photoreceptors in the visual system), odors (olfactory sensory neurons in the olfactory system), noxious heat (nociceptors in the somatosensory system), etc. Peripheral sensory receptors transduce the stimulus into membrane potential changes transmitted to the brain in the form of trains of action potentials. How information concerning different aspects of the stimulus such as quality, intensity, and duration are encoded in the trains of action potentials is hotly debated in the field of taste. At one extreme is the notion of labeled line/spatial coding - information for each different taste quality (sweet, salty, sour, etc.) is transmitted along a parallel but separate series of neurons (a "line") that project to focal clusters ("spaces") of neurons in the gustatory cortex. These clusters are distinct for each taste quality. Opposing this are concepts of population/combinatorial coding and temporal coding, where taste information is encrypted by groups of neurons (circuits) and patterns of impulses within these neuronal circuits. Key to population/combinatorial and temporal coding is that impulse activity in an individual neuron does not provide unambiguous information about the taste stimulus. Only populations of neurons and their impulse firing pattern yield that information.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stephen D Roper
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA.
- Department of Otolaryngology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Ponticorvo S, Prinster A, Cantone E, Di Salle F, Esposito F, Canna A. Sex differences in the taste-evoked functional connectivity network. Chem Senses 2022; 47:6617558. [PMID: 35749468 DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjac015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The central gustatory pathway encompasses multiple subcortical and cortical regions whose neural functional connectivity can be modulated by taste stimulation. While gustatory perception has been previously linked to sex, whether and how the gustatory network differently responds to basic tastes between men and women is unclear. Here, we defined the regions of the central gustatory network by a meta-analysis of 35 fMRI taste activation studies and then analyzed the taste-evoked functional connectivity between these regions in 44 subjects (19 women) in a separate 3 Tesla activation study where sweet and bitter solutions, at five concentrations each, were administered during scanning. From the meta-analysis, a network model was set up, including bilateral anterior, middle and inferior insula, thalamus, precentral gyrus, left amygdala, caudate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Higher functional connectivity than in women was observed in men between the right middle insula and bilateral thalami for bitter taste. Men exhibited higher connectivity than women at low bitter concentrations and middle-high sweet concentrations between bilateral thalamus and insula. A graph-based analysis expressed similar results in terms of nodal characteristics of strength and centrality. Our findings add new insights into the mechanisms of taste processing by highlighting sex differences in the functional connectivity of the gustatory network as modulated by the perception of sweet and bitter tastes. These results shed more light on the neural origin of sex-related differences in gustatory perception and may guide future research on the pathophysiology of taste perception in humans.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara Ponticorvo
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, Scuola Medica Salernitana, University of Salerno, Baronissi, Italy
| | - Anna Prinster
- Biostructure and Bioimaging Institute, National Research Council, Naples, Italy
| | - Elena Cantone
- Section of ENT, Department of Neuroscience, Federico II University, Naples, Italy
| | - Francesco Di Salle
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, Scuola Medica Salernitana, University of Salerno, Baronissi, Italy.,University Hospital "San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi D'Aragona", Scuola Medica Salernitana, Salerno, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Esposito
- Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Napoli, Italy
| | - Antonietta Canna
- Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Napoli, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Suen JLK, Yeung AWK, Wu EX, Leung WK, Tanabe HC, Goto TK. Effective Connectivity in the Human Brain for Sour Taste, Retronasal Smell, and Combined Flavour. Foods 2021; 10:foods10092034. [PMID: 34574144 PMCID: PMC8466623 DOI: 10.3390/foods10092034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 08/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The anterior insula and rolandic operculum are key regions for flavour perception in the human brain; however, it is unclear how taste and congruent retronasal smell are perceived as flavours. The multisensory integration required for sour flavour perception has rarely been studied; therefore, we investigated the brain responses to taste and smell in the sour flavour-processing network in 35 young healthy adults. We aimed to characterise the brain response to three stimulations applied in the oral cavity—sour taste, retronasal smell of mango, and combined flavour of both—using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Effective connectivity of the flavour-processing network and modulatory effect from taste and smell were analysed. Flavour stimulation activated middle insula and olfactory tubercle (primary taste and olfactory cortices, respectively); anterior insula and rolandic operculum, which are associated with multisensory integration; and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, a secondary cortex for flavour perception. Dynamic causal modelling demonstrated that neural taste and smell signals were integrated at anterior insula and rolandic operculum. These findings elucidated how neural signals triggered by sour taste and smell presented in liquid form interact in the brain, which may underpin the neurobiology of food appreciation. Our study thus demonstrated the integration and synergy of taste and smell.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Justin Long Kiu Suen
- Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; (J.L.K.S.); (A.W.K.Y.); (W.K.L.)
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Tokyo Dental College, 2-9-18, Kanda-Misakicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0061, Japan
| | - Andy Wai Kan Yeung
- Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; (J.L.K.S.); (A.W.K.Y.); (W.K.L.)
| | - Ed X. Wu
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China;
| | - Wai Keung Leung
- Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; (J.L.K.S.); (A.W.K.Y.); (W.K.L.)
| | - Hiroki C. Tanabe
- Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan;
| | - Tazuko K. Goto
- Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; (J.L.K.S.); (A.W.K.Y.); (W.K.L.)
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Tokyo Dental College, 2-9-18, Kanda-Misakicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0061, Japan
- Tokyo Dental College Research Branding Project, Tokyo Dental College, 2-9-18, Kanda-Misakicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0061, Japan
- Correspondence:
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
von Molitor E, Riedel K, Krohn M, Hafner M, Rudolf R, Cesetti T. Sweet Taste Is Complex: Signaling Cascades and Circuits Involved in Sweet Sensation. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:667709. [PMID: 34239428 PMCID: PMC8258107 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.667709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Sweetness is the preferred taste of humans and many animals, likely because sugars are a primary source of energy. In many mammals, sweet compounds are sensed in the tongue by the gustatory organ, the taste buds. Here, a group of taste bud cells expresses a canonical sweet taste receptor, whose activation induces Ca2+ rise, cell depolarization and ATP release to communicate with afferent gustatory nerves. The discovery of the sweet taste receptor, 20 years ago, was a milestone in the understanding of sweet signal transduction and is described here from a historical perspective. Our review briefly summarizes the major findings of the canonical sweet taste pathway, and then focuses on molecular details, about the related downstream signaling, that are still elusive or have been neglected. In this context, we discuss evidence supporting the existence of an alternative pathway, independent of the sweet taste receptor, to sense sugars and its proposed role in glucose homeostasis. Further, given that sweet taste receptor expression has been reported in many other organs, the physiological role of these extraoral receptors is addressed. Finally, and along these lines, we expand on the multiple direct and indirect effects of sugars on the brain. In summary, the review tries to stimulate a comprehensive understanding of how sweet compounds signal to the brain upon taste bud cells activation, and how this gustatory process is integrated with gastro-intestinal sugar sensing to create a hedonic and metabolic representation of sugars, which finally drives our behavior. Understanding of this is indeed a crucial step in developing new strategies to prevent obesity and associated diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elena von Molitor
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Hochschule Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | | | | | - Mathias Hafner
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Hochschule Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Rüdiger Rudolf
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Hochschule Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.,Interdisciplinary Center for Neurosciences, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Tiziana Cesetti
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Hochschule Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Avery JA. Against gustotopic representation in the human brain: There is no Cartesian Restaurant. CURRENT OPINION IN PHYSIOLOGY 2021; 20:23-28. [PMID: 33521413 PMCID: PMC7839947 DOI: 10.1016/j.cophys.2021.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The insular cortex is still one of the least understood cortical regions in the human brain. This review will highlight research on taste quality representation within the human insular cortex. Much of the controversy surrounding this topic is based in the ongoing debate over different theories of peripheral taste coding. When translated to the study of gustatory cortex, this has generated a distinct set of theoretical models, namely the topographic (or 'gustotopic') and population coding models of taste organization. Recent investigations into this topic have employed high-resolution functional neuroimaging methods and multivariate analytic approaches to examine taste quality coding in the human brain. Collectively, these recent studies do not support the topographic model of taste quality representation, but rather one where taste quality is represented by distributed patterns of activation within gustatory regions of the insula.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jason A Avery
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, United States, 20892
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Ohla K. Flexible and dynamic representations of gustatory information. CURRENT OPINION IN PHYSIOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cophys.2021.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
|
9
|
Jensterle M, Rizzo M, Janez A. Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 and Taste Perception: From Molecular Mechanisms to Potential Clinical Implications. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22020902. [PMID: 33477478 PMCID: PMC7830704 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22020902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Revised: 01/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Preclinical studies provided some important insights into the action of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) in taste perception. This review examines the literature to uncover some molecular mechanisms and connections between GLP-1 and the gustatory coding. Local GLP-1 production in the taste bud cells, the expression of GLP-1 receptor on the adjacent nerves, a functional continuum in the perception of sweet chemicals from the gut to the tongue and an identification of GLP-1 induced signaling pathways in peripheral and central gustatory coding all strongly suggest that GLP-1 is involved in the taste perception, especially sweet. However, the impact of GLP-1 based therapies on gustatory coding in humans remains largely unaddressed. Based on the molecular background we encourage further exploration of the tongue as a new treatment target for GLP-1 receptor agonists in clinical studies. Given that pharmacological manipulation of gustatory coding may represent a new potential strategy against obesity and diabetes, the topic is of utmost clinical relevance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mojca Jensterle
- Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Endocrinology, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Zaloška Cesta 7, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
- Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška Cesta 7, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Manfredi Rizzo
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA;
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy
| | - Andrej Janez
- Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Endocrinology, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Zaloška Cesta 7, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
- Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška Cesta 7, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +386-1-522-3114; Fax: +386-1-522-9359
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Viewing images of foods evokes taste quality-specific activity in gustatory insular cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2010932118. [PMID: 33384331 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2010932118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that the conceptual representation of food involves brain regions associated with taste perception. The specificity of this response, however, is unknown. Does viewing pictures of food produce a general, nonspecific response in taste-sensitive regions of the brain? Or is the response specific for how a particular food tastes? Building on recent findings that specific tastes can be decoded from taste-sensitive regions of insular cortex, we asked whether viewing pictures of foods associated with a specific taste (e.g., sweet, salty, and sour) can also be decoded from these same regions, and if so, are the patterns of neural activity elicited by the pictures and their associated tastes similar? Using ultrahigh-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging at high magnetic field strength (7-Tesla), we were able to decode specific tastes delivered during scanning, as well as the specific taste category associated with food pictures within the dorsal mid-insula, a primary taste responsive region of brain. Thus, merely viewing food pictures triggers an automatic retrieval of specific taste quality information associated with the depicted foods, within gustatory cortex. However, the patterns of activity elicited by pictures and their associated tastes were unrelated, thus suggesting a clear neural distinction between inferred and directly experienced sensory events. These data show how higher-order inferences derived from stimuli in one modality (i.e., vision) can be represented in brain regions typically thought to represent only low-level information about a different modality (i.e., taste).
Collapse
|
11
|
Cecchini MP, Tamburin S, Zanini A, Boschi F, Demartini B, Goeta D, Dallocchio C, Marotta A, Fiorio M, Tinazzi M. Hedonicity in functional motor disorders: a chemosensory study assessing taste. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2020; 127:1399-1407. [PMID: 32856158 PMCID: PMC7497316 DOI: 10.1007/s00702-020-02244-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore hedonicity to basic tastes in patients with functional motor disorders (FMDs) that are often associated with impairment in emotional processing. We recruited 20 FMD patients and 24 healthy subjects, matched for age and sex. Subjects were asked to rate the hedonic sensation (i.e., pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant) on a - 10 to +10 scale to the four basic tastes (sweet, sour, salty, and bitter) at different concentrations, and neutral stimuli (i.e., no taste stimulation) by means of the Taste Strips Test. Anxiety, depression, and alexithymia were assessed. FMD patients rated the highest concentration of sweet taste (6.7 ± 2.6) as significantly more pleasant than controls (4.7 ± 2.5, p = 0.03), and the neutral stimuli significantly more unpleasant (patients: - 0.7 ± 0.4, controls: 0.1 ± 0.4, p = 0.013). Hedonic ratings were not correlated to anxiety, depression, or alexithymia scores. Hedonic response to taste is altered in FMD patients. This preliminary finding might result from abnormal interaction between sensory processing and emotional valence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Paola Cecchini
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Anatomy and Histology Section, University of Verona, Strada le Grazie 8, 37134, Verona, Italy.
| | - Stefano Tamburin
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Neurology Section, Verona University Hospital, University of Verona, Piazzale Scuro 10, 37134, Verona, Italy
| | - Alice Zanini
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Anatomy and Histology Section, University of Verona, Strada le Grazie 8, 37134, Verona, Italy
| | - Federico Boschi
- Department of Computer Science, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | | | - Diana Goeta
- Psychiatry Unit II, A.O. San Paolo, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Milan, Italy
| | - Carlo Dallocchio
- Neurology Unit, Department of Medical Area, ASST Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Angela Marotta
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Mirta Fiorio
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Michele Tinazzi
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Neurology Section, Verona University Hospital, University of Verona, Piazzale Scuro 10, 37134, Verona, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|