Linda May Bartoshuk (born 1938)
is an American psychologist. She is a Presidential Endowed Professor of Community
Dentistry and
Behavioral Science
Behavioral sciences explore the cognitive processes within organisms and the behavioral interactions between organisms in the natural world. It involves the systematic analysis and investigation of human and animal behavior through naturalistic o ...
at the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
. She is an internationally known researcher specializing in the chemical senses of
taste
The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...
and
smell, having discovered that some people are
supertasters.
Biography
Bartoshuk grew up in
Aberdeen, South Dakota
Aberdeen ( Lakota: ''AblĂla'') is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, United States, located approximately northeast of Pierre. The city population was 28,495 at the 2020 census, making it the third most populous ci ...
.
She received her B.A. from
Carleton College and her PhD from
Brown University.
Her research explores the
genetic variations in taste perception and how taste perception affects overall health. Bartoshuk was the first to discover that
burning mouth syndrome
Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a burning, tingling or scalding sensation in the mouth, lasting for at least four to six months, with no underlying known dental or medical cause. No related signs of disease are found in the mouth. People with ...
, a condition predominantly experienced by postmenopausal women, is caused by damage to the
taste buds
Taste buds contain the taste receptor cells, which are also known as gustatory cells. The taste receptors are located around the small structures known as papillae found on the upper surface of the tongue, soft palate, upper esophagus, the che ...
at the front of the
tongue
The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for mastication and swallowing as part of the digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper surface (dorsum) is covered by taste ...
and is not a
psychosomatic condition. She was employed at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
prior to accepting a position at the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
in 2005. Bartoshuk's work at Yale was funded through a series of NIH grants.
She was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
in 1995.
In 2003, she was elected to the
National Academy of Sciences.
Selected works
*
*Bartoshuk, Linda M, Dreyer, E., Klee, H.J., Odabasi, A.Z., Sims, C.A., Snyder, D.J., & Tieman, D.M. (2014). Mutant tomato varieties and the study of volatile-enhanced-sweetness. Paper presented at the Association for Chemoreception Sciences, 2014.
*Bartoshuk, L.M., Marino, S., Snyder, D.J., & Stamps, J. (2013, in press). Head trauma, taste damage and weight gain. Chemical Senses.
References
External links
National Academy of Sciences audio interviewCoverage of Bartoshuk's research
American women psychologists
21st-century American psychologists
Brown University alumni
Carleton College alumni
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
People from Aberdeen, South Dakota
University of Florida faculty
Yale University faculty
1938 births
Living people
American women academics
21st-century American women
20th-century American psychologists
{{US-psychologist-stub