Journal of nutritional science and vitaminology
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J. Nutr. Sci. Vitaminol. · Jan 2019
Influence of Acute Mental Arithmetic Stress on Taste and Pungency.
Mental stress is a known risk factor for disease. This study investigated changes in sensations of taste and pungency before and after mental stress. Thirty healthy male university students rested for 20 min, performed mental arithmetic tasks for 10 min, and then underwent measurement of changes in their taste and ability to discern pungency. ⋯ The mental stress group experienced an increase in the pungency threshold and sensation of forearm skin pain with significantly high correlations obtained, whereas no correlation was found between these factors in the non-mental stress group. Acute mental stress increased the sensitivity to taste but decreased the sensitivity to the sensation of pungency on the tongue and pain on the skin. Sympathetic activity activated by stress may affect taste and the sensation of pungency.