Discontinuities Indicate Oral Chemoreceptor Research Opportunities - Abstract
Interest is developing in the mechanisms by which food and drink influence digestion. This a research area that has been largely ignored, likely because it was believed that the enteric nerve system controlled digestion and because sensory psychologists were more interested in vision and hearing. During the last two decades the discovery of the cellular mechanisms for oral sensation, both taste and TRP, has encouraged research into the possibility that food and drink may impact postprandial hyperemia and gastric emptying. The experimental results clearly indicate that both these processes are modified by oral chemosensory stimulation. Currently there are many studies where the results would have been interpreted differently if the researchers were more familiar with digestive physiology and open to the concept that foods and drinks elicit changes in the digestive process. This lack of cohesion produces knowledge discontinuities. This article presents a number of discontinuities present in the literature, some have solved by the author while others are waiting to be addressed. Some of the difficulties and pitfalls of postprandial statistical analysis are outlined.