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Obese mice may have weaker sense of taste

Posted by / November 24, 2013

mouse in snow

Compared with slimmer counterparts, obese mice had fewer taste cells that responded to sweet and bitter stimuli, according to a new study. In addition, the cells that did respond to sweetness reacted relatively weakly.

“Studies have shown that obesity can lead to alterations in the brain, as well as the nerves that control the peripheral taste system, but no one had ever looked at the cells on the tongue that make contact with food,” says lead scientist Kathryn Medler, associate professor of biological sciences at the University at Buffalo.

Full story at Futurity.

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  • […] Compared with slimmer counterparts, obese mice had fewer taste cells that responded to sweet and bitter stimuli, according to a new study. In addition, the cells that did respond to sweetness reacted relatively weakly.  […]

  • […] Compared with slimmer counterparts, obese mice had fewer taste cells that responded to sweet and bitter stimuli, according to a new study. In addition, the cells that did respond to sweetness reacted relatively weakly.  […]