The long-term goal of this project is to understand how the somesthetic and gustatory systems function together to produce oral sensations and flavors This goal will be pursued by taking advantage of three recent psychophysical findings that provide novel insights into how somatosensory stimulation can influence taste. First, studies will be conducted to investigate the phenomenon of thermal taste, in which tastes can be induced by temperature alone. Of particular interest are sources of individual and spatial variation in thermal taste, interactions between thermal taste and chemical taste, and the spatial and temporal characteristics of thermal tastes as they relate to the sensitivity to warmth and cold. Second, the induction and perception of 'phantom' tastes caused by brief bouts of cold stimulation on the front of the tongue will be investigated. These cold-induced phantoms (CIPs) are perceived after rather than during cold stimulation, and are localized away from rather than at the site of cooling. Experiments are proposed to test the hypothesis that CIPs, which reversibly mimic clinical dysgeusias, arise when putative tonic inhibition within and between oral sensory systems is interrupted by cold-block. Third, preliminary observations indicate that capsaicin, the prototypical """"""""trigeminal"""""""" irritant, can evoke significant bitterness in the circumvallate region of the tongue, and that both sensory irritation and perception of warmth are much weaker there than on the tongue tip. Experiments will investigate the possibility that some glossopharyngeal neurons that contribute to perception of bitterness are sensitive to irritants, and more generally, that the relationship between somesthesis and taste is different on the back of the tongue, where both kinds of stimulation are mediated solely by the glossopharyngeal nerve. Overall, these studies will advance our understanding of oral sensory processing in humans as well as provide data on sensory interactions that may be helpful in understanding the source of certain types of oral sensory pathologies (e.g., dysgeusias).
| Green, Barry G; Andrew, Kendra (2017) Stimulus-Dependent Effects of Temperature on Bitter Taste in Humans. Chem Senses 42:153-160 |
| Green, Barry G; Alvarado, Cynthia; Andrew, Kendra et al. (2016) The Effect of Temperature on Umami Taste. Chem Senses 41:537-45 |
| Green, Barry G; Nachtigal, Danielle (2015) Temperature Affects Human Sweet Taste via At Least Two Mechanisms. Chem Senses 40:391-9 |
| Green, Barry G (2013) In pursuit of taste phenotypes. Chem Senses 38:289-92 |
| Green, Barry G; Nachtigal, Danielle (2012) Somatosensory factors in taste perception: Effects of active tasting and solution temperature. Physiol Behav : |
| Green, Barry G; Nachtigal, Danielle; Hammond, Samuel et al. (2012) Enhancement of retronasal odors by taste. Chem Senses 37:77-86 |
| Green, Barry G (2012) Chemesthesis and the chemical senses as components of a ""chemofensor complex"". Chem Senses 37:201-6 |
| Rudenga, K; Green, B; Nachtigal, D et al. (2010) Evidence for an integrated oral sensory module in the human anterior ventral insula. Chem Senses 35:693-703 |
| Green, Barry G; Lim, Juyun; Osterhoff, Floor et al. (2010) Taste mixture interactions: suppression, additivity, and the predominance of sweetness. Physiol Behav 101:731-7 |
| Lim, Juyun; Urban, Lenka; Green, Barry G (2008) Measures of individual differences in taste and creaminess perception. Chem Senses 33:493-501 |
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