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Individual Differences in the Chemical Senses: Is There a Common Sensitivity?
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  22267652     Owner:  NLM     Status:  Publisher    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Taste, smell, and chemical irritation (so-called trigeminal sensation) combine in our daily experience to produce the supramodal sensation of flavor, are processed by partly overlapping neural mechanisms, and show functional interconnectivity in experiments. Given their collaboration in flavor formation and the well-established connections between these senses, it is plausible that polymodal detection mechanisms might contribute to individual differences in measured sensitivity. One would expect the existence of a general chemosensory sensitivity factor to result in associations among taste, smell, and trigeminal stimulation thresholds. Measures of 5 detection thresholds from all the chemical senses were assessed in the same group of young healthy subjects (n = 57). An unbiased principal components analysis (PCA) yielded a 2-component solution. Component 1, on which taste thresholds loaded strongly, accounted for 29.4% of the total variance. Component 2, on which the odor and trigeminal lateralization thresholds loaded strongly, accounted for 26.9% of the total variance. A subsequent PCA restricted to a 3-component solution cleanly separated the 3 sensory modalities and accounted for 75% of the total variance. Thus, though there may be a common underlying factor that determines some individual differences in odor and trigeminal lateralization thresholds, a general chemical sensitivity that spans chemosensory modalities seems unlikely.
Authors:
Johan N Lundström; Amy R Gordon; Paul Wise; Johannes Frasnelli
Publication Detail:
Type:  JOURNAL ARTICLE     Date:  2012-1-19
Journal Detail:
Title:  Chemical senses     Volume:  -     ISSN:  1464-3553     ISO Abbreviation:  -     Publication Date:  2012 Jan 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2012-1-23     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8217190     Medline TA:  Chem Senses     Country:  -    
Other Details:
Languages:  ENG     Pagination:  -     Citation Subset:  -    
Affiliation:
1Monell Chemical Senses Center, 3500 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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