Taste reactivity deficit in anorexia nervosa.

Aim: Anorexia nervosa is a complex psychiatric disorder posing a rapidly increasing burden on modern societies. Our purpose was to clarify perceptual-motivational aspects of gustatory disturbances in the disease.

Methods: A taste reactivity test, with the use of all five primary qualities in two concentrations, was performed in restrictive-type anorexic patients, and their hedonic evaluations were compared to those of age-matched healthy control subjects.

Results: The patients gave significantly lower pleasantness scores for pleasant taste stimuli compared with controls. The differences were the greatest for the lower concentration sucrose, umami and sodium chloride. Ratings given for the aversive taste stimuli were similar in both experimental groups.

Conclusion: Our findings contribute to a better understanding of complex symptoms of anorexia nervosa, and may also help to develop more effective cognitive-behavioral therapies.