Salty and Sour Taste Characteristics and Risk of Alcoholism Kristen A. Sandstrom, Tara M. Rajan, Richard Feinn and Henry R. Kranzler Background: This study examined gustatory measures (intensity and hedonic values of salt and citric acid solutions) that have been reported to differentiate nonalcoholics who are at risk of alcoholism by virtue of having an alcoholic father (PHP) from those with no such paternal history (PHN). The study tested the hypothesis that PHPs perceive salty and sour solutions to be more intense and less pleasurable than do PHNs. Methods: A total of 112 nonalcoholic subjects (44.7% male and 40.2% PHP) provided intensity and pleasantness ratings for a series of salty and sour solutions in varying concentrations. Results: PHP subjects rated salty solutions as more unpleasant than PHN subjects. PHP subjects also showed higher mean sour intensity ratings and less preference for sour solutions than PHN subjects. Conclusions: This study replicates and extends prior findings of salty and sour taste differences as a function of paternal history of alcoholism. Further research is needed to replicate these findings in other populations and to examine their implications for the transmission of alcoholism risk. Key Words: Taste Testing, Alcoholism Risk, Children of Alcoholics, Sour Taste, Salty Taste. R ESEARCH, INCLUDING FAMILY, twin, and adop- tion studies, shows that both genetic and environmen- tal influences play a role in the development of alcoholism (Gelernter, 1995). Although there is general agreement that individuals with a family history of alcoholism are at greater risk of developing the disorder (Lieb et al., 2002), the means by which the risk of alcoholism is transmitted from parent to child is unknown. The identification of risk factors for alcoholism and the mechanism by which these factors exert their effects can enhance prevention and tar- geted treatment interventions for high-risk individuals. Recent efforts to identify phenotypic markers for alco- holism risk have focused on differing taste perception in alcoholics and nonalcoholics, including the pleasurable ef- fects of sweet-tasting solutions. Alcoholics have been re- ported to prefer more highly concentrated sucrose solu- tions than do controls (Kampov-Polevoy et al., 1997). A family history of alcoholism also was associated with prefer- ence for a concentrated sucrose solution, which was inter- preted as supporting a genetic link between alcoholism and sweet preference (Kampov-Polevoy et al., 2001). However, studies by other investigators of nonalcoholics differentiated by the presence or absence of a paternal history of alcoholism have not replicated the finding that sweet preference is a marker for alcoholism risk (Kranzler et al., 2001; Scinska et al., 2001). Other tastants also have been evaluated in relation to alcoholism risk. Scinska et al. (2001) examined taste per- ception in 42 males differentiated by the presence or ab- sence of a paternal history of alcoholism. In that study, three concentrations each of sweet, bitter, salty, and sour solutions were introduced once, in order of increasing in- tensity; subjects rated each solution for intensity and pleas- antness on 100 mm visual analog scales that ranged from “not at all” to “extremely.” Paternal history positive (PHP) subjects rated different concentrations of citric acid as more intense and of sodium chloride as more unpleasant than did paternal history negative (PHN) subjects. Because taste plays a prominent role in alcoholic bever- age selection and consumption, replication of these find- ings may yield greater insight into the mechanisms that underlie alcoholism risk. The present study tested the hy- potheses that PHP nonalcoholics would rate both acidic and salty solutions as being more intense and less pleasur- able than would PHN nonalcoholics. METHODS Procedures After informed consent was obtained and screening interviews were completed, subjects completed the NEO-Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R; Costa and McCrae, 1992) and the California Psychological Inventory-Socialization Scale (CPI-So; Gough, 1975). The NEO-PI-R is a From the Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut. Received for publication November 25, 2002; accepted March 11, 2003. Supported by NIH grants AA03510, AA11330, AA13736, and RR06192 and the Dental Clinical Research Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center. Reprint requests: Henry R. Kranzler, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Uni- versity of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030-2103; Fax: 860-679-1316; E-mail: kranzler@psychiatry.uchc.edu. Copyright © 2003 by the Research Society on Alcoholism. DOI: 10.1097/01.ALC.0000071931.33565.54 0145-6008/03/2706-0955$03.00/0 ALCOHOLISM:CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH Vol. 27, No. 6 June 2003 Alcohol Clin Exp Res, Vol 27, No 6, 2003: pp 955–961 955