title: Taste reactivity deficit in anorexia nervosa.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Anorexia nervosa is a complex psychiatric disorder posing a rapidly increasing burden on modern societies. Our purpose was to clarify perceptual-motivational aspects of gustatory disturbances in the disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  A taste reactivity test, with the use of all five primary qualities in two concentrations, was performed in restrictive-type anorexic patients, and their hedonic evaluations were compared to those of age-matched healthy control subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients gave significantly lower pleasantness scores for pleasant taste stimuli compared with controls. The differences were the greatest for the lower concentration sucrose, umami and sodium chloride. Ratings given for the aversive taste stimuli were similar in both experimental groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings contribute to a better understanding of complex symptoms of anorexia nervosa, and may also help to develop more effective cognitive-behavioral therapies.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physiology and Neurophysiology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pécs University Medical School, Pécs, Hungary. csaba.szalay@aok.pte.hu
authors.forename: Csaba
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Szalay
authors.forename: Ildikó
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Abrahám
authors.forename: Szilárd
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Papp
authors.forename: Gábor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Takács
authors.forename: Balázs
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lukáts
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gáti
authors.forename: Zoltán
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Karádi
mesh_terms: D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology; D013651:Taste Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D055697:Taste Perception / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult