Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Citing Articles via Google Scholar Articles by HIRSCH, A. R. Search for Related Content Articles by HIRSCH, A. R. Alcohol Cognition

Sweet Taste Preference and Alcohol Dependence

To the Editor: We applaud the article by Henry R. Kranzler, M.D., et al. (1) and concur that sweet taste preference, rather than being a marker for alcoholism risk or a generalized alteration in rewarding response to hedonic stimuli in those with alcohol dependence (2), instead reflects a chemosensory adjustment to the effect of alcohol on the olfactory system. Both acute alcohol intoxication (3) and chronic alcoholism (4) are associated with an impaired olfactory ability. Smell is approximately 90% of what is described as taste or flavor; hyposmic individuals perceive food as bland or tasteless (5). In order to compensate, spices and enhanced true taste (e.g., sugar) are added to food (6). Therefore, through a learned response paradigm, those who are alcohol dependent develop a preference for a higher concentration of sugars, even in the absence of other foods.

Alternatively, because of chronic excess daily use of sugars, they may induce an up-regulation of the sweet taste receptors, raising their sucrose threshold and their associated sucrose hedonic curve (7). Thus, preference for higher sucrose concentration in individuals dependent on alcohol may represent only a behavioral compensatory response for those with alcohol-induced olfactory loss and thus, as Dr. Kranzler et al. found, would not be useful as an indicator of risk for developing alcohol dependence.

References

1. Kranzler HR, Sandstrom KA, Van Kirk J: Sweet taste preference as a risk factor for alcohol dependence. Am J Psychiatry 2001; 158:813-815[Abstract/Free Full Text]
2. Kampov-Polevoy A, Garbutt JC, Janowsky D: Evidence of preference for a high-concentration sucrose solution in alcoholic men. Am J Psychiatry 1997; 154:269-270[Abstract]
3. Hirsch AR, Russell GS: Effects of inebriation on olfaction (abstract). Investigative Medicine 1995; 43:422A
4. Mair RG, Doty RL, Kelly KM, Wilson CS, Langlais PJ, McEntee WJ, Vollmecke TA: Multimodal sensory discrimination deficits in Korsakoff’s psychosis. Neuropsychologia 1986; 24:831-839[CrossRef][Medline]
5. Hirsch AR: Olfaction in migraineurs. Headache 1992; 32:233-236[Medline]
6. Ferris AM, Schlitzer JL, Schierberl MJ, Catalanotto FA, Gent J, Peterson MG, Bartoshuk LM, Cain WS, Goodspeed RB, Leonard G, Donaldson J: Anosmia and nutritional status. Nutrition Res 1985; 5:149-156
7. Contreras RJ: Gustatory mechanisms of a specific appetite, in Neural Mechanisms in Taste. Edited by Cagan RH. Boca Raton, Fla, CRC Press, 1989, pp 119-145

Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Citing Articles via Google Scholar Articles by HIRSCH, A. R. Search for Related Content Articles by HIRSCH, A. R. Alcohol Cognition

Get information about faster international access.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2002 American Psychiatric Association. All rights reserved.

Home | Search | Current Issue | Past Issues | Subscribe | All APPI Journals | Help | Contact Us