These sensory differences with genetic taster status have an anatomical basis. Supertasters of PROP have the highest density of fungiform papillae and taste buds on the anterior tongue. Genetic taste status associates with food preference. For example, female supertasters report ambivalence toward sweets and high fat foods while female nontasters rate these foods as highly preferable. I continue to collaborate with Dr. Linda Bartoshuk to study genetic variation in taste.
Taste also shows variation across pregnancy.
I am collaborating with Drs. Linda Bartoshuk, Ruth Striegel- Moore, and Judith Rodin to analyze longitudinal data on changes in taste and food behaviors across pregnancy. Olfactory perception is vulnerable to loss with pathology and aging. In my doctoral research, I investigated the nutritional risk associated with olfactory dysfunction in a sample of free-living, elderly women. New funding from the NIA will allow me to investigate how the sense of taste interacts with oral processing of olfactory stimuli to influence flavor perception in aging.