Ph.D., Experimental Psychology; University of Pennsylvania 1991

I am interested in the genetic basis of human oral perception and its impact on nutrient intake. The primary focus of my work is on taste perception with an emphasis on taste discrimination, taste enhancement and suppression, and taste localization. I also study oral irritation/chemesthesis, mouthfeel, and astringency. The interactions among gustation, chemesthesis, and olfaction that comprise flavor are the topic of an ongoing research program that includes fMRI as a tool to understand regional brain involvement. In addition to human research, I conduct parallel genetic studies of the chemical senses and nutrient intake in my Fly Lab, which uses Drosophila melanogaster as a model.

Selected recent publications:

Cicerale, S., Breslin, P. A. S., Beauchamp, G. K., & Keast, R. S. J. (2009, electronic publication). Sensory characterization of the irritant properties of oleocanthal, a natural anti-inflammatory agent in extra virgin olive oils. Chemical Senses. doi:10.1093/chemse/bjp006

Feng, P., Yee, K. K., Rawson, N. E., Feldman, L. M., Feldman, R. S., & Breslin, P. A. S. (2009, electronic publication). Immune cells of the human peripheral taste system: Dominant dendritic cells and CD4 T cells. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2009.02.016

Breslin, P. A. S. (2008, electronic publication). Multi-modal sensory integration: Evaluating foods and mates. Chemosensory Perception. doi 10.1007/s12078-008-9021-5

Gordesky-Gold, B., Rivers, N., Ahmed, O. M., & Breslin, P. A. S. (2008). Drosophila melanogaster prefers compounds perceived sweet by humans. Chemical Senses, 33, 301-309.

Galindo-Cuspinera, V. & Breslin, P. A. S. (2007). Taste after-images: the science of “water tastes”. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 64, 2049-2052.

Wise, P. M., Hansen, J. L., Reed, D. R., & Breslin, P. A. S. (2007). Twin study of the heritability of recognition thresholds for sour and salty taste. Chemical Senses, 32, 749-754.

Breslin, P. A. S. & Huang, L. (2006). Human taste: Peripheral anatomy, taste transduction, and coding. Hummel, T. and Welge-Lüssen, A. Advances in Otorhinolaryngology 63, 152-190. Basel, Karger.

Galindo-Cuspinera, V., Winnig, M., Bufe, B., Meyerhof, W., & Breslin, P. A. S. (2006). A TAS1R receptor-based explanation of sweet ‘water-taste’. Nature, 441, 354-357.

Hakala, M. & Breslin, P. A. S. (2006). Genotypes of the hTAS2R38 receptor predict bitterness of selected vegetables. Current Biology, 16, R792-R794.

Sandell, M. A. & Breslin, P. A. S. (2006). Variability in a taste-receptor gene determines whether we taste toxins in food. Current Biology, 16, R792-R794.

Beauchamp, G. K., Keast, R. S. J., Morel, D. L. J., Pika, J., Han, Q., Lee, C.-H. et al. (2005). Ibuprofen-like activity in extra-virgin olive oil. Nature, 437, 45-46.

Bufe, B., Breslin, P. A. S., Kuhn, C., Reed, D. R., Tharp, C. D., Slack, J. P. et al. (2005). The molecular basis of individual differences in phenylthiocarbamide and propylthiouracil bitterness perception. Current Biology, 22, 322-327.

Diamond, J., Breslin, P. A. S., Doolittle, N., Nagata, H., & Dalton, P. (2005). Flavor processing: perceptual and cognitive factors in multi-modal integration. Chemical Senses, 30 Suppl 1, i232-i233.

Diamond, J., Dalton, P., Doolittle, N., & Breslin, P. A. S. (2005). Gender-specific olfactory sensitization: hormonal and cognitive influences. Chemical Senses, 30 Suppl 1, i224-i225.

Galindo-Cuspinera, V. & Breslin, P. A. S. (2005). The liaison of sweet and savory. Chemical Senses, 31, 221-225.

Keast, R. S. J. & Breslin, P. A. S. (2005). Bitterness suppression with zinc sulfate and na-cyclamate: a model of combined peripheral and central neural approaches to flavor modification. Pharmaceutical Research, 22, 1970-1979.

Nagata, H., Dalton, P., Doolittle, N., & Breslin, P. A. S. (2005). Psychophysical isolation of the modality responsible for detecting multimodal stimuli: a chemosensory example. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 31, 101-109.

Smith, A. B., III, Han, Q., Breslin, P. A. S., & Beauchamp, G. K. (2005). Synthesis and assignment of absolute configuration of (-)-oleocanthal: a potent, naturally occurring non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant agent derived from extra virgin olive oils. Organic Letters, 7, 5075-5078.