Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25737929›Full record

ArticleJournal of oral biology and craniofacial research

Randomized testing of taste discrimination in a case of congenital aglossia.

Betty L McMicken, Andrew Kunihiro, Long Wang, Frederico Salles, Patrícia Costa Bezerra, Kelly Rogers

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of oral biology and craniofacial research. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 34% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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

6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Betty L McMickenAssociate Professor, California State University, Long Beach, CA, USA.
Andrew KunihiroCalifornia State University, Long Beach, CA, USA.
Long WangAssistant Professor, California State University, Long Beach, CA, USA.
Frederico SallesUniversidade de Brasília, Brasilia, DF, Brazil.
Patrícia Costa BezerraUniversidade de Brasília, Brasilia, DF, Brazil.
Kelly RogersSaddleback College, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, USA.
California State University, Long Beach · USUniversidade de Brasília · BRSaddleback College · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimsIsolated Congenital Aglossia (ICA) is a rare syndrome where an individual is born without a tongue. A few anecdotal reports have identified taste as a sensation experienced by the person with congenital aglossia (PWCA). To date no systematic investigations have been reported. This study aimed to systematically determine gustatory function in a PWCA.

methodsThe current study utilized a randomized, double-blinded, controlled trial that tested the five basic tastes: sweet (sucrose), sour (acetic acid), salty (sodium chloride), bitter (caffeine), and umami (monosodium glutamate, MSG) in a 44 year old female PWCA. Five concentration levels (three for salty) were tested in triplicate for each stimulus. A nose clip was used to exclude contribution by olfactory detection. Contingency tables were constructed to determine relationships between identification accuracy and stimulus or concentration level.

resultsThe sweet (17.1 g/L), salty (0.58 g/L), and bitter (0.02 g/L) stimuli were detected at comparable concentrations to those reported in non-randomized trials, while sour (0.02 g/L) was detected at a lower concentration. The most common substitution was salty for umami (n = 7). Identification accuracy was significantly associated with taste stimuli χ (2) = 12.634, p = 0.013. Concentration level was significantly associated with identification accuracy only for salty, χ (2) = 9.000, p = 0.011.

conclusionThis study has demonstrated the perception of different tastes in a PWCA. This is the first known report of umami being identified as a unique taste in a PWCA. Variations in threshold taste concentrations compared to normal individuals indicate certain gustatory dysfunction.

Indexed as

AglossiaCongenitalGustationTasteUmami

Identifiers

PMID25737929
PMCPMC4252641
OpenAlexW2000207160

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.