Talk:Supertaster

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[edit] tetrachromat link?

Why is tetrachromatacy a "see also" link from this entry. It is another interesting example of supranormal sensory discrimination but it not a human phenomena and seems like to tangential an assocition to be a branch off of supertaster.

Actually, human tetrachromats do exist, but they are very rare (google for "madame tetrachromat"). But given that supertasting is a normal, common occurrence, I agree that the inclusion of tetrachromat is curious.Jeh25 02:36, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Number of taste buds

I wrote the original version of this article, and very much wished to include specifics regarding the taste-bud density of supertasters vs. nontasters, but I got lots of different numbers from different sources that didn't seem to add up. Some sources said supertasters could have up to 1100 buds per cm, others said as low as 400. Nontasters ranged from 5 to 40. There were other, more reasonable-sounding figures, but I didn't want to introduce potentially exaggerated or non-factual information to the article. If anyone knows these figures from a trusted and reliable source, please include them! Thank you. Andrew Lenahan - Starblind 21:44, Jan 20, 2005 (UTC)

This is speculation, but it might be that some sources are talking about actual taste buds (of which the avarage human has about 10,000 according to the article), and others are talking about papillae, the protrusions on which the taste buds sit (these are much fewer). I don't have an accurate source for actual numbers, but keeping this in mind might aid in finding them. EldKatt (Talk) 15:24, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
Yes, you are correct. Buds are housed in the papillae. Papillae can be easily counted non-destructively while buds may require excision to count. I don't have the time to add the info now, but here are the sources from which you can get the correct numbers.
Miller, I. J., Jr. and Reedy, F. E., Jr. (1990) Variations in human taste bud density and taste intensity perception. Physiol Behav, 47, 1213-1219.
Miller, I. J. and Reedy, F. E. (1990) Quantification of fungiform papillae and taste pores in living human subjects. Chem Senses, 15, 281-294.
Miller, I. J. and Bartoshuk, L. M. (1991) Taste Perception, Taste Bud Distribution, and Spatial Relationship. In Getchell, T. V. (ed.) Smell and taste in health and disease, 205-233.
Zuniga, J. R., Davis, S. H., Englehardt, R. A., Miller, I. J., Schiffman, S. S. and Phillips, C. (1993) Taste Performance on the Anterior Human Tongue Varies with Fungiform Taste Bud Density. Chemical Senses, 18, 449-460.
Hope this helps Jeh25 21:50, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Please make sure that "super taster" re-directs to here

Upon trying to re-find this page, I searched for "super taster", as in two words. Normally, WikiPedia is good at re-directing misspellings and uncommon spellings, but this one isn't implemented yet. Can someone who knows how to do this please do it?--Peter Knutsen 03:56, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for the URL, I'll check it out.--Peter Knutsen 05:08, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Ref for PROP

We need a reference for the assertion that propyluracil is used to distinguish between normal tasters and supertasters in research settings. JFW | T@lk 21:53, 3 December 2005 (UTC)

Have a look at Google[1]. EldKatt (Talk) 22:09, 3 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] BBC Supertasters

link to BBC Supertasters is no good65.14.60.2 01:39, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Huh?

In the Identifying a Supertaster section, the text says "Supertasters were initially identified on the basis of the perceived intensity of PROP compared to a reference salt solution. However, because supertasters live in a larger taste world than medium or nontasters, this can cause scaling artifacts. Subsequently, salt has been replaced with a non-oral auditory standard." (emphasis mine)

How does "a non-oral auditory standard" make any sense? How does hearing have anything to do with tasting ability? Shawn D. 17:30, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

I agree, this needs more explanation to make any kind of sense to a lay reader, if in fact it isn't completely false. blodulv 21:47, 18 January 2007 (UTC)
I have have expanded text in the article to explain the logic behind using sound as a standard. Is it clear now?Jeh25 21:40, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Ah, I see you're confusing the use of the decibel as a sound level rating to mean that anything rated in dB is therefore using a sound standard. That understanding is incorrect. The decibel is a logarithmic scale that expresses the relative magnitude of something against a reference level. It could be sound, power, or (apparently) tasting ability. However, there is still no explanation or reference to what is used to determine the relative levels. One still can't taste sound, so the answer to your question is: no, it is not clear now. Shawn D. 17:08, 27 June 2007 (UTC)
I have revised the article in an attempt to address your comment. For more information on matching sensations across modalities, you can read
Stevens JC, Marks LE. Cross-modality matching of brightness and loudness. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1965 Aug;54(2):407-11.
or
Marks et al. Magnitude-matching: the measurement of taste and smell. Chemical Senses. 1988. 13: 63-87.
Hope this helpsJeh25 17:18, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Actually, one could potentially taste sound. Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia for more information.--66.244.171.154 16:13, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] More intense taste world

the first sentence was nonsense. it said a supertaster was someone who lived "in a more intense taste world." i had to change it immediately, and i felt it was so urgent i didn't consult anyone first. Youdontsmellbad 07:51, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps you should have read up on the topic first, because your change is imprecise and misleading. Acute would imply finer resolution and nothing at all about the intensity of the sensation. While it is true that supertasters can *also* detect smaller changes (see Prescott et al 2004 doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2004.04.009), the central concept of supertasting revolves around the idea that there are intensity differences across people regarding taste. According to the scientist who coined the term, supertasters live in a taste world that is about 3x more intense than that of nontasters. http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2003/0214diet.shtml Jeh25 15:35, 6 August 2007 (UTC)
Say what you will about my accuracy, I take issue with your use of the dubious term "taste world" which is mentioned once in that article (in quotes) and gets one solid google result. please, strive for the best use of research possible, but i don't buy the notion of a "taste world" in an encyclopedia. least of all in the first sentence of an article. someone back me up, please. "taste world?" come on.Youdontsmellbad 20:12, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

I'm writing a correction that should keep both of us happy. Youdontsmellbad 23:10, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

I have also rephrased the "taste world" phrasing before. It's esoteric phrasing with no place in an encyclopedia. Supertasters don't "live in" any kind of "taste world", they live on the planet earth and have an abnormally strong SENSE of tatse. I will rephrase this goofy wording any time it is added back into the article. Ghost of starman 20:42, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

To avoid a revert war, I have not changed the article text. That said, while you may not like it, the phrase is repeatedly used within the scientific literature. Here are some examples:
Blakeslee & Fox. 1932. Our different taste worlds. Journal of Heredity. 23:97-1007.
Bartoshuk. 1979. Bitter taste of saccharin related to the genetic ability to taste the bitter substance 6-n-propylthiouracil. Science, 205, 934-935.
Bartoshuk, Duffy & Miller. 1994. PTC/PROP tasting: anatomy, psychophysics, and sex effects. Physiol Behav, 56, 1165-1171.
Bartoshuk, Duffy, Reed and Williams. 1996. Supertasting, earaches and head injury: genetics and pathology alter our taste worlds. Neurosci Biobehav Rev, 20, 79-87.
Tepper. 1998. 6-n-Propylthiouracil: a genetic marker for taste, with implications for food preference and dietary habits. Am J Hum Genet, 63, 1271-1276.
Bartoshuk et al. 2000. Comparing sensory experiences across individuals: recent psychophysical advances illuminate genetic variation in taste perception. Chem Senses, 25, 447-460.
Bartoshuk et al. 2004. From psychophysics to the clinic: missteps and advances. Food Qual Pref, 15, 617-632.
It seems to me that google is not the sum total of human knowledge, and shouldn't be used as the final arbiter of whether or not something belongs in an encyclopedia. Jeh25 19:48, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Correlation

"Still, the T2R38 genotype has been linked to sweet preference,[7] alcohol intake,[5] colon cancer (via inadequate vegetable consumption)[8] and cigarette smoking.[citation needed]" - increased or decreased correlation? It's perceived as increased, but IIRC the last three are of decreased correlation. 89.139.82.136 (talk) 11:43, 8 March 2008 (UTC)