Abstract：
Electrogustometry (EGM) is a practical way to test taste. It is typically performed using unipolar electrodes, with the anode on the tongue and the cathode on the hand, forearm, or neck. This results in electric current passing through nontaste tissues and adds a level of impracticality to its clinical application. We compared, using a repeated measures counterbalanced design, anodal thresholds from a unipolar electrode to those of a unique bipolar electrode in which the anode and cathode are contiguously located. Both sides of the anterior tongue were assessed in 70 subjects, as were the effects of age and sex. Nonparametric analyses were performed. The median threshold of the bipolar electrode\'s central disk (2.49 µA) did not differ from that of the unipolar electrode (2.96 µA) (P = 0.84). On average, older persons exhibited higher thresholds. No significant sex or tongue side effects were evident. Interestingly, when the annular (donut-shaped) bipolar electrode served as the anode, the threshold was higher than that of the other electrodes (5.19 µA; Ps < 0.001). This conceivably reflected lessened summation of activity among adjacent afferents and partial sampling of tongue regions with fewer taste buds. Correlations among all EGM thresholds were nominally higher for women than for men, ranging from 0.83 to 0.85 for women and 0.54 to 0.67 for men; all Ps < 0.001. This study validates the use of a bipolar electrode for assessing taste function, averting movement of current through nontaste-related tissues and making such testing safer and more practical.
摘要：
电测法(EGM)是测试味道的实用方法。它通常使用单极电极进行，舌上有阳极，手上有阴极，前臂,或脖子。这导致电流通过非味道组织并增加其临床应用的不切实际程度。我们比较,使用重复的措施平衡设计，从单极电极到阳极和阴极连续放置的独特双极电极的阳极阈值。在70名受试者中评估了前舌的两侧，年龄和性别的影响也是如此。进行非参数分析。双极电极中心盘的中值阈值(2.49µA)与单极电极的中值阈值(2.96µA)没有差异(p=0.84)。平均而言,老年人表现出更高的门槛。没有明显的性别或舌头副作用。有趣的是,当环形（环形）双极电极用作阳极时，阈值高于其他电极(5.19µA;ps<0.001)。可以想象，这反映了相邻传入之间的活动总和减少，并且对味蕾较少的舌头区域进行了部分采样。女性的所有EGM阈值之间的相关性名义上高于男性，女性为0.83至0.85，男性为0.54至0.67；所有ps<0.001）。这项研究验证了使用双极电极评估味觉功能，避免电流通过非味道相关组织的运动，使这种测试更安全，更实用。
