Linda May Bartoshuk

My training is in experimental psychology with a specialty in psychophysics.  My early work focused on the health consequences of the two major sources of oral sensory variation: genetics and pathology.  Our work on measurement theory led to the discovery of supertasters, those who experience the most intense taste sensations.  This measurement work also allowed us to compare normal individuals to patients with taste dysfunction, revealing complex interactions among the nerves carrying oral sensory information.  Many of these individuals suffer from taste phantoms (i.e., taste sensations in the absence of stimulation), which we ultimately replicated in the laboratory with anesthesia in order to support our emerging model.  Our methods carry powerful implications for psychology and medicine, and they extend far beyond into fields like economics and philosophy. 

Most recently, we conducted sensory and hedonic evaluations using our new psychophysical methodology.  We used regression models to look for associations between fruit constituents and liking.  In the process, multiple regression revealed that some volatiles contribute independently to sweet taste, above and beyond the sugars present in the fruit.  The chemosensory field has known for some years that retronasal olfaction (i.e., perception of food volatiles from the mouth) and taste interact in the brain such that a few volatiles could enhance sweetness.  We discovered many more of these volatiles than were initially known; the effects add in fruit such that the right combination can more than double the sweetness of the fruit.  These volatiles can be added to any food/beverage to enhance sweetness.

One of the most exciting parts of this new work are the implications for patients.  Volatiles by-pass the peripheral taste system when they enhance sweet.  This means that we can by-pass damaged taste nerves in patients and enhance taste at the taste centers in the brain.