Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Gwangmyeong Hospital, Gwangmyeong-Si, Korea.
Department of Medicine, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.
Sci Rep. 2023 May 31;13(1):8798. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-35372-5.
Interpreting the relationship between different taste function tests of different stimuli, such as chemical and electrical stimulation, is still poorly understood. This study aims to analyze visually as well as quantitatively how to interpret the relationship of results between taste function tests using different stimuli. Patients who underwent the whole mouth test and Electrogustometry (EGM) at a tertiary medical center between August 2018 and December 2018 were reviewed retrospectively with electronic medical records. Of the 110 patients, a total of 86 adults who self-reported that their taste function was normal through a questionnaire were enrolled. EGM measured the thresholds of the chorda tympani (CT) and glossopharyngeal nerve (GL) area of the tongue. The whole mouth test measured detection and recognition thresholds for sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami taste. Statistical analyses of Pearson's, Spearman's rank and polyserial correlation and multidimensional scaling (MDS) was performed. The EGM threshold for the average value of both CT regions and the recognition threshold of the whole mouth test were significantly correlated in sweet, salty, bitter, and sour taste (r = 0.244-0.398, P < 0.05), and the detection threshold was correlated only significant in sweet (r = 0.360, P = 0.007). In the MDS analysis results, the three-dimensional (D) solution was chosen over the 2-D solution because of the lower stress. Detection-, recognition threshold of whole mouth test and EGM thresholds of CT and GL area, those were standardized by Z-score, formed well-distinguished sections in the MDS analyses. The EGM threshold of the CT area was closer to the detection and recognition thresholds than the EGM threshold of the GL area. In general, the EGM threshold was closer to the recognition threshold than the detection threshold for each taste. Overall, visualization of the relationship of whole mouth test and EGM by MDS was in good agreement with quantitative analysis. EGM and whole mouth test seem to reflect different aspects of taste. However, when interpreting the EGM results, the EGM threshold of the CT area will show more similarity to the recognition threshold than the detection threshold for the whole mouth test.
目前对于不同刺激（如化学刺激和电刺激）的不同味觉功能测试之间的关系的解读仍知之甚少。本研究旨在分析和定量味觉功能测试中使用不同刺激时，如何解读结果之间的关系。对 2018 年 8 月至 12 月在某三级医疗中心行全口味觉测试和味觉电刺激检查（Electrogustometry，EGM）的患者进行回顾性电子病历审查。共有 110 名患者，其中 86 名成人通过问卷报告味觉正常被纳入研究。EGM 测量舌鼓索神经（chorda tympani，CT）和舌咽神经（glossopharyngeal nerve，GL）区域的阈值。全口味觉测试测量甜、咸、苦、酸和鲜味的检测和识别阈值。进行 Pearson 相关、Spearman 等级相关和多序列相关以及多维标度（multidimensional scaling，MDS）分析。CT 两个区域的 EGM 阈值平均值与全口味觉测试的识别阈值在甜、咸、苦和酸味中显著相关（r=0.244-0.398，P<0.05），检测阈值仅在甜味中显著相关（r=0.360，P=0.007）。在 MDS 分析结果中，由于较低的应力，选择三维（D）解决方案而不是二维（2D）解决方案。通过 Z 分数标准化的全口味觉测试的检测-识别阈值和 EGM 阈值的 CT 和 GL 区域，在 MDS 分析中形成了明显的区分。CT 区域的 EGM 阈值比 GL 区域的 EGM 阈值更接近检测和识别阈值。总的来说，EGM 阈值与每种味觉的识别阈值比检测阈值更接近。总体而言，通过 MDS 对全口味觉测试和 EGM 的关系进行可视化与定量分析结果一致。EGM 和全口味觉测试似乎反映了味觉的不同方面。然而，在解释 EGM 结果时，EGM 阈值的 CT 区域将与全口味觉测试的识别阈值更相似，而不是检测阈值。
