Mice of the SWR/J (SW) strain avoid orally delivered sucrose octa-acetate (SOA), whereas the mice of the C3HeB/FeJ (C3) strain are insensitive to SOA. Mice of both strains and of a congenic strain (C3.SW) that shares more than 99% of the C3 genome, were tested in a taste-salient brief-access taste test for responses to SOA and quinine hydrochloride, before and after transection of the glossopha...

We determined taste recognition thresholds for six compounds (sucrose, fructose, sodium chloride, quinine sulphate, PROP and liquorice) in fasting students and, in the same subjects, after a meal. The testing procedure was the staircase-method in blind conditions. Although taste sensitivity may vary with hormonal status, our results did not show any significant difference in taste recognition t...

Taste thresholds for sucrose, NaCl, QHCl and citric acid were examined over the lifetime of seven rats. Significant yet subtle decreases in taste sensitivity were observed in the oldest subjects only.

We determined taste recognition thresholds for six compounds (sucrose, fructose, sodium chloride, quinine sulphate, PROP, and liquorice) in fasting students and, in the same subjects, after a meal. The testing procedure was the staircase-method in blind conditions. Although possible variation of taste sensitivity could be linked to internal state (i.e. hormonal status), our results did not show...

Past research on the relationship between taste sensitivity and fruit and vegetable (FV) intake in children has focused on sensitivity to bitter taste. The effects of sensitivity to sweet taste on intake of FV have never been investigated. Furthermore, the effects of children's weight on intake of FV are inconclusive. This study measured the effects of Sucrose Detection Threshold (SDT) and weig...

Taste is an essential sense for the survival of most organisms. In insects, taste is particularly important as it allows to detect and avoid ingesting many plant toxins, such as L-canavanine. We previously showed that L-canavanine is toxic for Drosophila melanogaster and that flies are able to detect this toxin in the food. L-canavanine is a ligand of DmXR, a variant G-protein coupled receptor ...

A simple nervous system combined with stereotypic behavioral responses to tastants, together with powerful genetic and molecular tools, have turned Drosophila larvae into a very promising model for studying gustatory coding. Using the Gal4/UAS system and confocal microscopy for visualizing gustatory afferents, we provide a description of the primary taste center in the larval central nervous sy...

Taste receptor cells detect chemicals in the oral cavity and transmit this information to taste nerves, but the neurotransmitter(s) have not been identified. We report that adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) is the key neurotransmitter in this system. Genetic elimination of ionotropic purinergic receptors (P2X2 and P2X3) eliminates taste responses in the taste nerves, although the nerves remain re...

Patients with adrenal cortical insufficiency exhibit an increased taste sensitivity for sodium chloride (NaCl) (1). Treatment with carbohydrate-active steroids returns the abnormal threshold to normal levels (1). In a variety of acute and chronic debilitating diseases, a number of them exhibiting major abnormalities of water and electrolyte metabolism, taste threshold for NaCi is comparable to ...