Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22583859›Full record

ArticlePhysiology & behavior2012

Altered processing of sweet taste in the brain of diet soda drinkers.

Erin Green, Claire Murphy

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Physiology & behavior, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 68 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
68citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
9.6field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

68 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 151 citations in OpenAlex.

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  16. Expectation Modulates Hedonic Experiences and Midbrain Responses to Sweet Flavor.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026
    Article
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8 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Erin GreenSan Diego State University/University of California San Diego, Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA, USA.
Claire Murphy
San Diego State University · USUniversity of California, San Diego · US

Funding

Chemosensory Perception &Psychophysics in the AgedR01AG004085 · NIA · SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY · PI MURPHY, CLAIRE L · 1986 to 2015
$3.4M
NIA NIH HHS AG04085-24NIA NIH HHS R01 AG004085
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Artificially sweetened beverage consumption has been linked to obesity, and it has been hypothesized that considerable exposure to nonnutritive sweeteners may be associated with impaired energy regulation. The reward system plays an integral role in modulating energy intake, but little is known about whether habitual use of artificial sweetener (i.e., diet soda consumption) may be related to altered reward processing of sweet taste in the brain. To investigate this, we examined fMRI response after a 12-hour fast to sucrose (a nutritive sweetener) and saccharin (a nonnutritive sweetener) during hedonic evaluation in young adult diet soda drinkers and non-diet soda drinkers. Diet soda drinkers demonstrated greater activation to sweet taste in the dopaminergic midbrain (including ventral tegmental area) and right amygdala. Saccharin elicited a greater response in the right orbitofrontal cortex (Brodmann Area 47) relative to sucrose in non-diet soda drinkers. There was no difference in fMRI response to the nutritive or nonnutritive sweetener for diet soda drinkers. Within the diet soda drinkers, fMRI activation of the right caudate head in response to saccharin was negatively associated with the amount of diet sodas consumed per week; individuals who consumed a greater number of diet sodas had reduced caudate head activation. These findings suggest that there are alterations in reward processing of sweet taste in individuals who regularly consume diet soda, and this is associated with the degree of consumption. These findings may provide some insight into the link between diet soda consumption and obesity.

Indexed as

AdultAmygdalaCarbonated BeveragesFemaleFrontal LobeFunctional NeuroimagingHumansImage Processing, Computer-AssistedMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMesencephalonRewardSaccharinSucroseSweetening AgentsTaste PerceptionSaccharinSucroseSweetening Agents

Identifiers

PMID22583859
PMCPMC3465626
OpenAlexW2134885347

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.