title: The application of d.c. electrical stimulation in evoking and recording gustatory brain potentials.
abstract: Evidence exists which supports the hypothesis that electrical stimulation of appropriate parameters can fulfil the fundamental requirements for an effective evoked potential taste stimulus. Nevertheless, it had previously been considered that electrical taste stimulation is inadequate for evoking gustatory brain potentials. Consequently, the majority of the earlier attempts to record gustatory evoked potentials (GEPs) reported in the literature have employed chemical stimulus techniques. The design of an electrical taste stimulator and its interface to an evoked potential recording unit is described. The first human brain potentials recorded with this system are presented, among which are those attributable to taste pathway activation. Following future work to unequivocally confirm that taste evoked brain potentials are achievable with this system, it has potential to become a clinically valuable tool.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering and Mercers Institute for Research in Ageing, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. maryfitz@indigo.ie
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fitzsimons
authors.forename: N F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Sheahan
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: van der Putten
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Malone
mesh_terms: D016477:Artifacts; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004566:Electrodes; D004867:Equipment Design; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D012016:Reference Values; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology*