title: Sweet taste threshold for sucrose inversely correlates with depression symptoms in female college students in the luteal phase.
abstract: Influences of depression symptoms on the sweet taste threshold were investigated in healthy college students (30 males and 40 females). Depression symptoms were scored by SDS (Self-Rating Depression Scale), and anxiety levels by STAI (State- and Trait-Anxiety Inventory). Recognition thresholds for sucrose were determined. In female students, the menstrual phase on the day of the experiment was self-reported. Depression symptoms, anxiety levels, and the recognition threshold for sucrose were not different among the 3 groups, i.e. males, females in the follicular phase, and females in the luteal phase. Depression symptoms were positively correlated with state and trait anxiety in all groups. The sweet taste threshold was inversely correlated with depression symptoms (r=-0.472, p=0.031) and trait anxiety (r=-0.506, p=0.019) in females in the luteal phase. In males as well as females in the follicular phase, however, no correlation between sweet taste threshold and depression was found. The results show that the recognition threshold for sucrose reduces with increased depression in females with a higher anxiety trait, but only in the luteal phase. It is hypothesized that brain regions, which spatially overlap and are responsible for both aversive emotions and gustatory processing, are susceptible to periodic changes in gonadal hormones due to the menstrual cycle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Yamanashi Institute of Environmental Sciences, Kenmarubi 5597-1, Fujiyoshida 4030005, Japan. Electronic address: mnagai@kenkoudai.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Yamanashi Institute of Environmental Sciences, Kenmarubi 5597-1, Fujiyoshida 4030005, Japan.
authors.forename: Sayaka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Yamanashi Institute of Environmental Sciences, Kenmarubi 5597-1, Fujiyoshida 4030005, Japan.
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Welfare, Prefectural University of Yamanashi, Iida 5-11-1, Kofu 4000035, Japan.
authors.forename: Reiko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.affiliation: College of Law, Nihon University, Misaki-cho 2-3-1, Tokyo 1018375, Japan.
authors.forename: Maki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wada
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000502:physiology; D003863:Depression / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008183:Luteal Phase / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D057566:Self Report; D013334:Students; D013395:Sucrose / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013652:Taste Threshold / Q000502:physiology*; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D013395:Sucrose
keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Menstrual cycle; Recognition threshold; Sweet taste