Finger posture modulates structural body representations.

Patients with lesions of the left posterior parietal cortex commonly fail in identifying their fingers, a condition known as finger agnosia, yet are relatively unimpaired in sensation and skilled action. Such dissociations have traditionally been interpreted as evidence that structural body representations (BSR), such as the body structural description, are distinct from sensorimotor representations, such as the body schema. We investigated whether performance on tasks commonly used to assess finger agnosia is modulated by changes in hand posture.

Effects of sucrose on salivary flow and composition: differences between real and sham intake.

Human saliva contains numerous salivary components that are fundamental for a healthy oral environment and the oral processing of foods. To study a possible differential influence of orosensory stimulation and metabolic activation on salivary composition, human parotid salivary flow, pH, A(280), and alpha-amylase activity were measured before, during and after real or sham (sip-and-spit) sucrose intakes. Variations in these salivary characteristics were related to perceived satiety.

Continuous analysis of parotid saliva during resting and short-duration simulated chewing.

Objective: Parotid saliva flow is increased by mastication and its composition is also modified. The aim of this work was to clarify the relationships between flow rate, pH and protein concentration, during resting and short-duration simulated chewing, using continuous and fractional saliva collections.

Design: Parotid saliva flow rate, pH and protein concentration, as it exits the Stensen's duct, were determined on seven subjects in response to one and 30 ipsilateral jaw clenches.

The taste of fat.

For many years, fat in meats have been considered to convey quality although variations in the amounts of fat were often poorly correlated with eating qualities. The contribution of fat to taste is equally controversial, because a specific 'fat taste' perception had not been characterized. The innate attraction for fats may be due to one or more of orosensory, post-ingestive and metabolic signals.