Sweet taste and blood pressure-related analgesia

Abstract

To test the prediction that sweet taste modifies responses to cold induced pain, 72 young adults held sweet, bitter and water solutions in their mouths, in counterbalanced order, before and during a cold pain stimulus. To test whether or not blood pressure interacts with sweet taste analgesia, measurements of resting blood pressure were also obtained. A significant main effect of taste on pain tolerance was observed, as well as a significant interaction between resting mean arterial pressure (MAP) and taste on tolerance. Sweet taste was associated with a prolongation of tolerance compared to the bitter and water conditions. When participants were split along the median for MAP, sweet taste was associated with an 18.1% increase in pain tolerance compared with water for those with lower MAP. No significant impact of taste on pain sensitivity was observed among participants with higher MAP. Groupwise comparisons revealed a significant difference in pain tolerance between participants with higher and lower MAP in the water condition but not in the sweet condition, replicating previous findings of a reduced sensitivity to pain among those with higher blood pressure. The analgesic effects of sweet tasting solutions seen previously in human infants and children may also be present in adults. Individuals with higher blood pressure may not be as sensitive to the presumably opioid-mediated analgesic effects of sweet taste, perhaps due to opioid dysregulation.