School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis

2 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Medicine

Technique to Collect Fungiform (Taste) Papillae from Human Tongue

Andrew I. Spielman^*1, M. Yanina Pepino², Roy Feldman^3,4,5, Joseph G. Brand^*4,6

¹Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology, College of Dentistry, New York University, ²Department of Internal Medicine and Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, ³Veterans Affairs Medical Center, ⁴School of Dental Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, University of Pennsylvania-School of Medicine, ⁵Monell Chemical Senses Center, ⁶Monell Chemical Senses Center

Knowledge of molecular mechanisms underlying gustatory transduction has recently enjoyed significant advances, largely due to using animal models. However, the wide diversity in taste sensitivity and specificity among mammals warrants studies in human tissue. We describe a biopsy technique to collect living taste cells from the papillae on human tongue.

Medicine

Psychophysical Tracking Method to Assess Taste Detection Thresholds in Children, Adolescents, and Adults: The Taste Detection Threshold (TDT) Test

Paule V. Joseph¹, Julie A. Mennella², Beverly J. Cowart², M. Yanina Pepino³

¹National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Section of Sensory Science and Metabolism, ²Monell Chemical Senses Center, ³Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Psychophysical tools measure the functionality of the taste system for both research and health assessment purposes. This paper describes a method to measure taste detection thresholds that can determine the lowest concentration of sucrose, sodium chloride, or monosodium glutamate that can be tasted by individuals as young as 6 years.