MEG evaluation of taste by gender difference.

Magnetoencephalographic recordings were evaluated in five different states: normal condition, sweet, bitter, sour, and salt taste. Twenty-eight healthy volunteers, 14 male and 14 female, ranging from 12 to 50 years of age, were included in the study. The results showed that, in the normal condition, as well as in the sweet and the bitter taste, the male volunteers exhibited a higher count of low-frequency than high-frequency channels compared to the femal ones; in the case of the sour taste, there was no clear differentiation between the genders; with the salt taste, the female volunteers exhibited a higher count of low-frequency channels whereas there was no clear differentiation in the number of high frequencies between the gender. A discrimination in the spatial distribution of the frequencies provides novel insights into the identification of gender-related taste sensation.