"Sucrose analgesia": absorptive mechanism or taste perception?
It remains unclear whether "sucrose analgesia" is related to a pre- or postabsorptive mechanism. In a double blind cross over study sucrose reduced the pain response of preterm infants exposed to heel prick blood samples only when it was administered into the mouth. It was ineffective when administered intragastrically.
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000700:Analgesics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001800:Blood Specimen Collection; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007441:Intubation, Gastrointestinal; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013395:Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013649:Taste