title: Experience-induced changes in taste identification of monosodium glutamate.
abstract: Taste sensitivity for a given subject generally has been thought to be genetically determined and not plastic. Yet experience-inducible changes in human taste and olfactory sensitivities have been reported. To test a taste induction hypothesis, we exposed 17 Americans/Europeans to monosodium glutamate (MSG) in food and then compared their ability to identify MSG taste with that of 2 control groups (18 Americans/Europeans without MSG exposure and 18 Japanese). When tested on Day 11 or 12, the Americans/Europeans exposed to MSG were able to identify MSG at significantly lower concentrations than the Americans/Europeans without MSG exposure. Moreover, Japanese subjects who had prior extensive experience with MSG in Japanese food were able to identify MSG at significantly lower concentrations than the two American/European groups. The differences in identification ability between the two American/European groups challenge the notion of taste sensitivity as stable over time and support the hypothesis of an experience-inducible component in human taste.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Biology, Clark University, 950 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01610-1477, USA. ck227@cornell.edu
authors.forename: Chiyoko
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Linda M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Kennedy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004032:Diet; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012970:Sodium Glutamate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013649:Taste / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D013652:Taste Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D012970:Sodium Glutamate