Changes in taste intensity perception following anterior temporal lobe removal in humans

Abstract

To investigate the role of the anterior temporal lobe in taste perception, we compared taste intensity estimations made by patients who had removal from either the left or the right anterior temporal lobe for the treatment of intractable epilepsy with a group of healthy control subjects. Estimations were made for five concentrations of each of four different tastes, as well as for five cards of varying saturations of gray, which served as a control task. A cross-modal magnitude estimation procedure was employed in which subjects used distance on a measuring tape to reflect intensity estimation. Distances were then transformed into logs, and the slope and the correlation with stimulus concentration or saturation was calculated. Correlation was taken as a measure of accuracy of estimation and slope was taken as a measure of perceived intensity. As predicted, repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a significant difference between the control group and both patient groups in taste intensity estimations, but not for grayness, reflecting the importance of the anterior temporal lobe in low-level gustatory but not visual perception. Additionally, repeated measures ANOVA for slopes indicated that subjects in the right temporal group rated the bitter taste as more intense than did subjects in other groups, possibly reflecting increased intensity perception of the unpleasant bitter taste.