Investigating the influence of monosodium L-glutamate on brain responses via scalp-electroencephalogram (scalp-EEG)

Abstract

As the relevance between left and right brain neurons when transmitting electrical signals of umami taste is unknown, the aim of this work was to investigate responsive regions of the brain to the umami tastant monosodium glutamate (MSG) by using scalp-electroencephalogram (EEG) to identify the most responsive brain regions to MSG. Three concentrations of MSG (0.05, 0.12, 0.26 g/100 mL) were provided to participants for tasting while recoding their responsive reaction times and brain activities. The results indicated that the most responsive frequency to MSG was at 2 Hz, while the most responsive brain regions were T4CzA2, F8CzA2, and Fp2CzA2. Moreover, the sensitivity of the brain to MSG was significantly higher in the right brain region. This study shows the potential of using EEG to investigate the relevance between different brains response to umami taste, which contributes to better understanding the mechanism of umami perception.