Gustatory News and Research

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Study provides new insights into relationship between taste, behavior

Evolutionary conserved brainstem circuits are the first relay for gustatory information in the vertebrate brain. While the brainstem circuits act as our life support system and they mediate vital taste related behaviors, the principles of gustatory computations in these circuits are poorly understood.

8 Dec 2015

Food smells activate impulse areas of the brain linked with obsessive-compulsive disorder in obese children

The area of the brain associated with impulsivity and the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder is activated in obese children when introduced to food smells, according to a study being presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.

24 Nov 2015

NSF awards EAGER grant to expand use of temperature-activated protein switches in neurons

Troy Zars, Mirela Milescu, and Lorin Milescu, faculty members of the Division of Biological Sciences and the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at the University of Missouri, have been awarded an Early Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) from the National Science Foundation to expand the use of a temperature-activated protein switches in neurons. The new technology could lead to a better understanding of brain disorders in humans.

14 Aug 2015

GSA announce winners of GSA Poster Awards at 55th Annual Drosophila Research Conference

The Genetics Society of America (GSA) and the Drosophila research community are pleased to announce the winners of GSA Poster Awards at the 55th Annual Drosophila Research Conference, which took place in San Diego, March 26-30, 2014.

21 May 2014

Study explains how sensory input impacts fruit flies' decisions about sweet taste

Fruit flies have a lot to teach us about the complexity of food. Like these tiny little creatures, most animals are attracted to sugar but are deterred from eating it when bitter compounds are added.

29 Aug 2013

Research finds that aging elicits changes in taste preferences

Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, found that aging elicits changes in taste preferences and that such changes appear to be independent of taste nerve activity.

31 Jul 2013

Taste receptor governs respiratory infection susceptibility

The bitter taste receptor TAS2R38 may play a role in innate defense, say researchers, who have found that variations in the TAS2R38 gene may regulate susceptibility to respiratory infection.

12 Nov 2012

Researchers discover brain mechanism responsible for sensation of nausea

Nausea is a common and distressing side effect of many drugs and treatments. Unlike vomiting, nausea is not well understood, but new research by University of Guelph scientists may soon change that.

6 Oct 2012

Obesity affects taste in children, adolescents

Study results show that obese children perceive taste differently from their healthy weight peers, being significantly less able to identify the individual tastes of salty, umami, and bitter.

27 Sep 2012

Brains of people with anorexia and obesity are wired differently

The brains of people with anorexia and obesity are wired differently, according to new research. Neuroscientists for the first time have found that how our brains respond to food differs across a spectrum of eating behaviors - from extreme overeating to food deprivation.

4 Apr 2012

AChemS recognizes Monell Center molecular biologist as outstanding junior scientist

Molecular biologist Ichiro Matsumoto, Ph.D., of the Monell Center, is the recipient of the 2012 Ajinomoto Award for Young Investigators in Gustation, awarded annually by the Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) to an outstanding junior scientist who is an emerging leader in the field of gustation.

22 Feb 2012

Deficits in endocannabinoid function may contribute to eating disorders

A new report in Biological Psychiatry suggests that deficits in endocannabinoid function may contribute to anorexia nervosa and bulimia.

1 Nov 2011

Geophagy protects stomach against toxins, parasites and pathogens

Most of us never considered eating the mud pies we made as kids, but for many people all over the world, dining on dirt is nothing out of the ordinary. Now an extensive meta-analysis forthcoming in the June issue of The Quarterly Review of Biology helps explain why.

3 Jun 2011

Study on current insect repellants confirms need for better insect repellants

Fire up the citronella-scented tiki torches, and slather on the DEET: Everybody knows these simple precautions repel insects, notably mosquitoes, whose bites not only itch and irritate, but also transmit diseases such as West Nile virus, malaria and dengue. Now, Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered what it is in the bugs' molecular makeup that enables citronellal (the aromatic liquid used in lotions, sprays and candles) and DEET, to deter insects from landing and feeding on you. A better understanding of these molecular-behavioral links already is aiding the team's search for more effective repellants.

26 Aug 2010

Researchers learn some of nicotine's secrets

Duke University Medical System researchers have discovered there are differing taste pathways for nicotine, which could provide a new approach for future smoking-cessation products.

23 Jan 2009

The smell of sound - researchers look at phenomenon synaesthesia

The research field has grown from grapheme-colour synaesthesia to include other forms of synaesthesia in which flavours are evoked by music or words (lexical-gustatory synaesthesia), space structures by time units, colours by music, etc.

28 Dec 2007

Taste loss after tonsillectomy unusual

In a small study of patients undergoing tonsillectomy, or removal of the tonsils, none reported an ongoing dysfunction in their sense of taste following the procedure, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Otolaryngology?Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

17 Jul 2007

Weight loss may be a preclinical indicator of Alzheimer's disease

The slow, steady weight loss associated with aging may speed up prior to the onset of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, according to an article in the September issue of Archives of Neurology.

12 Sep 2006