The behavior and facial expressions performed by cats have been reported to be visibly affected by the perceived taste quality of a food item. The goal of the present study was to assess how cats react to pleasant and unpleasant tastes. The facial and behavioral reactions of 13 cats to different concentrations of L-Proline and quinine monohydrochloride as well as mixtures with different concentrations of the two substances were assessed using a two-bottle preference test. The cats were videotaped during the tests and the frequency and duration of 50 different behaviors was analyzed in Noldus the Observer XT. The cats responded to tastes regarded as pleasant by having their eyes less than 50 % open for significantly longer periods of time compared to a water control. Tongue protrusions were also observed significantly more frequently when the cats sampled from a solution with a preferred taste compared to a water control. When encountering solutions of quinine monohydrochloride or mixtures containing quinine monohydrochloride the cats were observed to perform tongue protrusion gapes much more frequently compared to a water or L-Proline control. Even though the cats did not significantly differ in the number of times they licked at spouts containing the 50 mM L-Proline and 500 mM quinine monohydrochloride mixture compared to a 50 mM L-Proline, no masking effect could be confirmed as there was no increase in the acceptance of the mixture was observed. The present study suggests that the knowledge about behavioral responses to pleasant or unpleasant taste can be utilized in future studies on how cats perceive different tastes.

Background: The relationship between fruit and vegetable (FV) exposure, preference, and consumption among children has been a targeted topic of study due to the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity. The purpose of this study was to examine FV home exposure in elementary children and the selection of both fruits and vegetables and less familiar lunch entrées at school. Design: Cross-sectional data on 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students (N=59) from an elementary school in central Texas. Methods: Home and school FV exposure was collected via self-report using a six-item questionnaire. Students were placed into high and low groups for 1) the variety of FV offered at home, and 2) the variety of FV eaten at home. Absolute and relative ratings of eight lunch entrées were collected through taste-tests conducted at school. Results: Differences in the consumption of FV at school and the selection of lunch entrées between high and low groups were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U independent non-parametric tests. Results indicated that the distribution of consumption at school differed across high and low groups for parental offering of FV for: oranges (z=2.16, p<0.05), cucumber (z=2.44, p<0.05), pineapple (z=3.41, p=0.001), mandarin oranges (z=2.93, p<0.01), tomato (z=3.14, p<0.01), and broccoli (z=3.26, p=0.001). The distribution of consumption at school across high and low groups for the eating FV at home was significant for 10 out of the 11 FV items: oranges (z=2.24, p<0.05), cucumber (z=2.64, p<0.01), pineapple (z=4.19, p<.001), mandarin oranges (z=3.06, p<0.01), tomatoes (z=3.47, p=0.001), bell pepper (z=2.25, p<0.05), broccoli (z=4.00, p<0.001), melon (z=3.06, p<0.01), apples (z=2.79, p<0.01), and zucchini (z=2.27, p<0.05) Likewise, significant differences between high and low groups for parental offering of FV were found for the selection of the chef salad (z=2.546, p<0.05), the Greek salad (z=2.091, p<0.05), and the veggie humus plate (z=2.104, p<0.05). Absolute and relative ratings of eight lunch entrées are also reported. Conclusions: Children who are more frequently exposed to FV at home consume a wider variety FV at school and are more likely to select healthy, less familiar entrées at school lunch. / text

The Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus, exists as two morphs of a single species, a sighted surface morph and a blind cavefish. In addition to eye regression, cavefish have an increased number of taste buds, maxillary teeth and have an altered craniofacial skeleton. I investigated the effect the lens has on the development of the surrounding skull by ablating the lens over early ontogeny. This unique long-term study sheds light on how early embryonic manipulations on the eye can affect the shape of the adult skull. The effects of lens ablation were analyzed using landmark based morphometric analyzes. Morphometric analyzes indicate that there is a significant difference in the shape of the supraorbital bone and suborbital bones four through six. These bones expand into the eye orbit exhibiting variability in their shape. Interestingly, the number of caudal teeth on the lower jaw is also affected by lens ablation. I compared these findings between morphs and across two teleost species. I conducted lens removal in the surface fish to determine if it would produce a cavefish phenotype. Lens removal in the surface fish only partially results in a cavefish phenotype, indicating that lens loss is not solely responsible for the phenotypic differences between the two morphs. The effects of lens removal were then compared in the Mexican tetra and zebrafish. Surprisingly, the results indicate that the same bones are variable in shape in both species, indicating that the variability of these bones is conserved across species. Finally, I compared laser lens damage and full lens removal, to investigate the capacity for both lens regeneration and healing in the Mexican tetra. Together, the lens healing and regeneration studies indicate that lens absence in early development does not influence the shape of the skull. Lens absence during later development influences the mechanical forces in the skull resulting in the bones of the orbital region changing in size and shape. This study highlights the dynamic nature of the skull and sheds light on the influence the eyes (a soft tissue) have on the surrounding skull (a hard tissue) a topic which has been overlooked in the literature.

This thesis investigated the perception of salt taste in two novel strategies for inclusion of NaCl in liquid foods: water-in-oil (w/o) emulsions and mucoadhesive biopolymer solutions. The major factors influencing w/o emulsion stability and perception were evaluated and a response surface model was developed. The amount of dispersed aqueous phase was the most significant factor affecting stability and perception. NaCl stabilized the emulsions and depressed salt sensory perception at elevated concentrations due to its interaction with the emulsifier polyglycerol polyricinoleate. Future research should elaborate events during oral processing of w/o emulsions. Biopolymer mucoadhesive character and concentration effects were also investigated. Mucoadhesion did not enhance salt taste. Above c*, there was a significant depression of sensory intensity, enhanced in polymers with hyperentanglements in solution. The depressive concentration effect may mask the effects of mucoadhesion. Future research should also inspect the influence of thickened hydrocolloid microstructure on perception. / The Advanced Foods and Materials Network

No description available.

Taste buds are spindle-shaped collections of taste receptor cells located in the surface epithelium of the oral cavity. Taste receptor cells are specialized sensory epithelial cells that are responsible for the transmission of taste information to the taste nerves. Immunocytochemical evidence of the neuropeptide cholecystokinin in various taste cells of the rat has been presented by our lab (Herness 1991). These results have prompted our investigation of the messenger RNA encoding this peptide in rat taste cells. CCK may play an important role in taste signal transmission or modulation.Three areas of the oral cavity were investigated for the presence of CCK mRNA. Two of these areas contain collections of taste buds in well-defined structures called papillae. Circumvallate papillae, located on the posterior surface of the tongue, and foliate papillae, located on the lateral surfaces of the tongue, were sectioned and probed for CCK mRNA using non-radiographic in situ hybridization. The third area investigated was the nasoincisor duct, located on the roof of the oral cavity. This duct contains isolated taste buds within the surface epithelium near the opening to the oral cavity.The results of this study confirm the presence of CCK mRNA in all three areas studied. Taste buds located in the circumvallate papillae, foliate papillae and in the nasoincisor duct all contain taste cells that express CCK mRNA. These results are verified by the absence of labeled cells in negative control experiments. The negative controls consists of the omission of probe, anti-DIG antibody, and the application of a sense probe. The immunocytochemical results show only a subset of taste cells labeled for the CCK peptide while the in situ results depict all cells in the bud labeled for CCK mRNA. The in situ results very closely parallel the immunocytochemical results previously obtained by our lab, although with in situ hybridization epithelial staining is more prominent. The surface epithelium contains the messenger RNA encoding CCK likely because taste receptor cells are derived from the lingual epithelium.Several roles for CCK can be considered in taste physiology. Taste reception and taste signal transduction is not fully understood. Also the localization and pharmacology of CCK receptors in taste systems awaits investigation. These two areas must be studied further to understand the function of CCK in taste cells. / Department of Biology

How do music consumers come into contact with the music they like? How is music consumption patterns developed? Using a phenomenological approach this master's thesis sets out to answer a number of questions regarding the development of music consumption patterns. To do this in-depth interviews has been carried out with eleven respondents who were interviewed about their experi- ences of developing a music consumption pattern. Through this research it is shown how the development of music consumption patterns is a long process which begins with the introduction of the music consumer to an artist or group upon which future consumption will be conditioned and continues through the constant adding of new music and knowledge until the music listener one day stops developing his or her taste further and the music consumption stagnates. This research has also made possible the analysis of how well three influential theoretical models are at explaining music consumption from the perspective of the music consumer.

No description available.

The aim of this doctoral dissertation was to examine effects of olfactory imagery on other sensory and perceptual processes, and to explore brain areas involved in generation of olfactory mental images. Four studies, three behavioral and one functional neuroimaging (Positron Emission Tomography, or PET), were conducted, and healthy volunteers participated in all four studies. In Study 1, participants were better at detecting weak odors when they simultaneously imagined the same compared with a different odor as the one being detected. This effect of olfactory imagery was specific, as the request to imagine objects visually did not have any effect on detection of weak odors. In Studies 2 and 3, effects of presented and imagined odors on taste perception were compared. Effects of imagined odors were equivalent to the effects of presented odors when an objective measure of taste perception (detection of a weak tastant, Study 3) was used, and comparable but more limited when a subjective measure of taste perception (intensity ratings, Study 2) was used. In Study 4, PET technology was used to investigate changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) associated with odor imagery. Participants were screened and selected for their odor imagery ability, using the behavioral paradigm developed in Study 1. Increased CBF associated with odor imagery was revealed in several areas relevant for olfaction: the left primary olfactory cortical region including piriform cortex, the left secondary olfactory cortical region (posterior orbitofrontal cortex), and the rostral insula bilaterally. Interestingly, increased activity in the primary olfactory cortex and the rostral insula was observed both in the odor imagery and the odor perception subtraction. Based on the obtained findings, I concluded that the effects of imagined odors on sensory processes are specific when compared with visual imagery, and similar to the effects of presented odors. Furthermore, the neural

Food intake is regulated by both appetite and orosensory reward systems. Appetite systems stimulate or reduce hunger, while orosensory reward motivates consumption of high fat sweet foods, resulting in food enjoyment. The majority of advanced cancer patients suffer from malnutrition and wasting, which may be caused by a loss of appetite due to physiological changes or a hindered orosensory reward system due to taste and smell (chemosensory) changes or both. Orosensory reward systems were hypothesized to be impaired in advanced cancer. To understand the influence of chemosensory alterations on food intake and enjoyment, the nature (intensity) of chemosensory alterations in cancer patients and their relationship with ingestive behaviour and quality of life (QOL) were investigated (study 1). Advanced cancer patients (n=192) more frequently self-reported tastes and odours to be heightened rather than diminished (p=0.035). Patients with perceived chemosensory alterations had poorer QOL (p=0.0176) and lower caloric intake (p=0.0018) compared to patients with no alterations. Cannabinoids (e.g. -9-tetrahydrocannabinol, -9-THC) increase food intake by stimulating both appetite and orosensory reward systems as well as potentially enhancing chemosensory function. To palliate chemosensory alterations and poor appetite, advanced cancer patients (n=21, study 2) with these symptoms were randomized to receive either -9-THC (2.5mg) or placebo oral capsules twice daily for 18 days. Compared to patients receiving placebo, -9-THC-treated patients reported that food tasted better (p=0.04), they had improved chemosensory perception (p=0.026), increased preference and intake of high protein foods (p=0.008), and improved appetite (p=0.05), quality of sleep (p= 0.025), and relaxation (p= 0.045). Like cancer patients, tumour-bearing rats appeared to experience a loss of orosensory reward, showing tumour-associated anorexia when fed a rewarding diet to the same degree as on a usual diet (study 3). -9-THC significantly increased caloric intake compared to vehicle for both tumour-bearing (p=0.0146) and healthy rats (p=0.0004), suggesting endocannabinoid-mediated appetite systems are functioning in this tumour model. The findings of this thesis suggest orosensory reward systems to be impaired in advanced cancer, decreasing the liking and motivation to eat. -9-THC treatment may help to palliate perceived chemosensory alterations and loss of appetite and food enjoyment in advanced cancer. / Food Science and Technology