title: Sweet liking in patients with Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Pleasant tastes and odors are considered phylogenetically old natural rewards and their hedonic evaluation is regarded as a good indicator of the reward system function. The primary aim of the present study was to compare pleasantness ratings of sucrose solutions (1-30%, w/w) and sweet liking/disliking status in 20 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and in 20 age-matched healthy controls. In addition, basic sensory aspects of gustatory (intensity ratings, electrogustometric thresholds) and olfactory function (identification abilities in the Sniffin' Stick test) were assessed in both groups. The number of odors rated as pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral was also compared. As expected, the PD patients showed a significant impairment in olfactory identification abilities. There were no differences between the PD patients and controls in electrogustometric thresholds. Rated intensity of higher sucrose concentrations did not differ between the groups. The PD patients tended to rate water taste as more intense in comparison with the controls. Pleasantness ratings of sucrose solutions, the proportion of subjects rating 30% sucrose as the most pleasant (sweet likers), and the number of odors rated as pleasant did not differ between the study groups. The present results suggest that PD does not lead to any obvious alterations in pleasantness ratings of chemosensory stimuli. The study requires replication in larger samples.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology I, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Halina
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sienkiewicz-Jarosz
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scinska
authors.forename: Lukasz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Swiecicki
authors.forename: Wanda
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lipczynska-Lojkowska
authors.forename: Wlodzimierz
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kuran
authors.forename: Danuta
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ryglewicz
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kolaczkowski
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Samochowiec
authors.forename: Przemyslaw
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bienkowski
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007980:Levodopa / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D012903:Smell / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013395:Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013549:Sweetening Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013649:Taste / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013652:Taste Threshold / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D013549:Sweetening Agents; D007980:Levodopa; D013395:Sucrose