Age-related changes of gustatory function depend on alteration of neuronal circuits

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftForschungsartikelBeigetragenBegutachtung

Beitragende

  • Emilia Iannilli - , Wadsworth Center for Laboratories and Research, Klinik und Poliklinik für Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde (Autor:in)
  • Franziska Broy - , Klinik und Poliklinik für Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde (Autor:in)
  • Severine Kunz - , Klinik und Poliklinik für Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde (Autor:in)
  • Thomas Hummel - , Klinik und Poliklinik für Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde (Autor:in)

Abstract

Studies on age-related gustatory function report a reduction of the taste function, but the degeneration of the peripheral papillae alone cannot explain this reduction. In the present study, we apply psychophysics and gustatory event–related potentials (gERPs) to explore age-related differences in the processing of gustatory information as indicated by the cerebral sources of the gERP. A total of 96 subjects (47 female), subdivided into four groups with increasing age, participated in the study. After olfactory and gustatory screening for normal function, the subjects were invited to two sessions of gERP acquisition. They received a randomized combination of five isointense basic tastants that were presented at a medium level. At the same time, we recorded scalp electroencephalography (EEG) from 128 scalp locations. Psychophysical testing for smell and taste function exhibited a significant decrease with age. Topographical analyses of the EEG delineated four basic topographical maps that explained the processing of taste in the pre-decline age range, with sources inside the relevant gustatory areas. The age-related change of gustatory processing was associated with the absence of a specific map with sources inside the cerebellum and posterior insula, and the temporal broadening of a map with sources in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus. These results confirm the hypothesis that the reduction of taste function with aging is not only due to degradation of gustatory peripheral tissues but is also related to different neural signatures in the central nervous system.

Details

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Seiten (von - bis)1927-1936
Seitenumfang10
FachzeitschriftJournal of neuroscience research
Jahrgang95
Ausgabenummer10
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - Okt. 2017
Peer-Review-StatusJa

Externe IDs

PubMed 28493338
ORCID /0000-0001-9713-0183/work/181390153

Schlagworte

Schlagwörter

  • aging, gERPs, gustatory function, microstates, source analysis, topographical maps