SUPERTASTING, EARACHES AND HEAD-INJURY - GENETICS AND PATHOLOGY ALTEROUR TASTE WORLDS

Family studies using thresholds showed that PROP (6-n-propylthiouracil ) tasting is produced by a dominant allele, T. Nontasters have two rec essive alleles and tasters have one or two dominant alleles. The bitte rness of suprathreshold PROP and anatomical criteria subdivide tasters into medium and supertasters. Supertasters may be TT tasters, but thi s has yet to be demonstrated Supertasters perceive the greatest bitter ness and sweetness from many stimuli as well as the greatest oral burn from alcohol and capsaicin. Women are more likely than men to be supe rtasters. Otitis media and head trauma can alter taste and thus PROP c lassifications, complicating studies on PROP genetics. Some subjects w ith a history of otitis media show taste reductions, but others show e nhanced tastes and appear to have more taste buds per fungiform papill a. Subjects with head trauma show reduced tastes on some oral loci, bu t there is evidence that severe reductions on the front of the tongue ameliorate reductions at the circumvallate papillae on the back of the tongue by a release of inhibition mechanism.