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The Journal of Neuroscience, December 6, 2006, 26(49):12664-12671; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3459-06.2006

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Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Human Taste Thresholds Are Modulated by Serotonin and Noradrenaline

Tom P. Heath,¹ Jan K. Melichar,² David J. Nutt,² and Lucy F. Donaldson¹

¹Department of Physiology and ²Psychopharmacology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD, United Kingdom

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Lucy F. Donaldson, Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK. Email: Lucy.Donaldson{at}bris.ac.uk

Circumstances in which serotonin (5-HT) and noradrenaline (NA) are altered, such as in anxiety or depression, are associated with taste disturbances, indicating the importance of these transmitters in the determination of taste thresholds in health and disease. In this study, we show for the first time that human taste thresholds are plastic and are lowered by modulation of systemic monoamines. Measurement of taste function in healthy humans before and after a 5-HT reuptake inhibitor, NA reuptake inhibitor, or placebo showed that enhancing 5-HT significantly reduced the sucrose taste threshold by 27% and the quinine taste threshold by 53%. In contrast, enhancing NA significantly reduced bitter taste threshold by 39% and sour threshold by 22%. In addition, the anxiety level was positively correlated with bitter and salt taste thresholds. We show that 5-HT and NA participate in setting taste thresholds, that human taste in normal healthy subjects is plastic, and that modulation of these neurotransmitters has distinct effects on different taste modalities. We present a model to explain these findings. In addition, we show that the general anxiety level is directly related to taste perception, suggesting that altered taste and appetite seen in affective disorders may reflect an actual change in the gustatory system.

Key words: taste; chemosensory; serotonin; noradrenaline; anxiety; depression

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Received Aug. 10, 2006; revised Oct. 26, 2006; accepted Oct. 26, 2006.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Lucy F. Donaldson, Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK. Email: Lucy.Donaldson{at}bris.ac.uk

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