title: Perception of odor-induced tastes following insular cortex lesion.
abstract: Lesions of the insula can affect olfaction and gustation. Here, we examined the effect of insula lesions on taste and taste-like experiences generated via smelling (i.e., odor-induced tastes) in patients with focal insula lesions and intact olfaction. From a set of 16 patients with lesions to the insula, we found 7 (6 with right-sided lesions) who performed normally on various olfactory measures. These were compared to 42 normal control subjects on tests of gustatory and odor-induced taste perception as well as control measures. The patients were impaired relative to controls on most gustatory measures. They were also impaired on tests of odor-induced taste perception, primarily for stimuli presented on the left side. Examining cases individually revealed evidence of a dissociation: two patients exhibited no impairment in odor-induced taste perception in spite of gustatory deficits. Together, these findings suggest that the insula mediates taste recognition, hedonics, and intensity judgments as well as odor-induced taste perception. However, the areas responsible for aspects of taste perception and those responsible for odor-induced taste do not fully overlap each other and they are also independent of olfactory areas.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Macquarie University , NSW 2109 Sydney , Australia.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Stevenson
authors.forename: Laurie A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Ky
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McGrillen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009812:Odorants; D055696:Olfactory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D012903:Smell; D013649:Taste; D055697:Taste Perception / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: chemical senses; gustation; insula lesion; odor-induced taste; synesthesia