1: Alcohol Alcohol. 2007 Jan 31; [Epub ahead of print]
Perceived intensity and pleasantness of sucrose taste in male alcoholics.
Wronski M,
Skrok-Wolska D,
Samochowiec J, Ziolkowski M,
Swiecicki L,
Bienkowski P,
Korkosz A,
Zatorski P,
Kukwa W,
Scinska A.
email: scinska@yahoo.com
Department of Psychiatry, Pomeranian Medical Academy, Szczecin, Poland.
Aims The aim of the present study was to evaluate a possible relationship between taste responses to sweet solutions and alcoholic status.
Methods The rated intensity and pleasantness of sucrose taste was compared in male alcoholics (n = 45) and non-alcoholic controls (n = 33).
Results The rated intensity, but not pleasantness, of water taste (0% sucrose) was higher in the alcoholics. The two groups did not differ with respect to the rated intensity or pleasantness of sucrose solutions (1-30%). The proportion of sweet-likers, i.e. subjects rating 30% sucrose as most pleasant, was similar in both groups (the controls: 57.6%, the alcoholics: 62.2%).
A subgroup of alcoholics with a paternal history of alcoholism (n = 22) rated the highest sucrose concentration as more pleasant compared to alcoholics without alcoholic fathers.
The proportion of sweet-likers among the alcoholics with a paternal history of alcoholism (77.3%) was significantly higher than that found in the alcoholics without a familial history of alcoholism (47.8%).
Conclusions The present results suggest the following: (i) alcohol dependence is not associated with any major alterations in taste responses to sucrose solutions, (ii) sweet liking is a phenotypic marker of male alcoholics with a paternal history of alcoholism.
