Oral & Cutaneous Sensitivity

Principal Investigator:

Director Emeritus and Fellow
The John B. Pierce Laboratory

Professor of Surgery (Otolaryngology)
Yale School of Medicine

Research Interests

Research in my laboratory focuses on chemosensory and somatosensory perception in humans. We use psychophysical methods to study the sensitivity and response characteristics of the underlying sensory systems and the interactions among them that enable perception of conditions and objects in the immediate environment. A central goal of our approach is to relate psychophysical findings in humans to current neurobiological data and theory.

Current Projects

Research topics currently being studied include the effects of temperature on taste and flavor perception in humans, and perception of the taste, olfactory, and chemesthetic components of e-cigarette flavors with an emphasis on menthol and its interaction with sensory irritation from nicotine. The latter research is being conducted as part of the Yale Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science.

Representative Publications

Green B.G., Andrew K. Stimulus-Dependent Effects of Temperature on Bitter Taste in Humans. Chem Senses. 2017;42(2):153-60. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjw115. PubMed PMID: 28119357.

Rosbrook K, Green B.G. Sensory Effects of Menthol and Nicotine in an E-Cigarette. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2016;18(7):1588-95. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntw019. PubMed PMID: WOS:000379826500007.

Alvarado C, Nachtigal D, Slack JP, Green B.G. Differential modulation of the lactisole ‘Sweet Water Taste’ by sweeteners. PLoS One. 2017;12(7):e0180787. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180787. PubMed PMID: 28700634; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5507258.

Green B.G., Nachtigal D. Temperature Affects Human Sweet Taste via At Least Two Mechanisms. Chem Senses. 2015;40(6):391-9. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjv021. PubMed PMID: 25963040; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4542652.

Green, B.G. (2012) Chemesthesis and the chemical senses as components of a “chemofensor complex”, Chemical Senses, 37: 201-206.

Green, B.G., Nachtigal, D., Hammond, S. and Lim, J. (2012) Enhancement of retronasal odors by taste.  Chemical Senses, 37:77-86. 

Green, B.G., Lim J., Osterhoff, F., Blacher, K. and Nachtigal, D. (2010) Taste mixture interactions:  suppression, additivity, and the predominance of sweetness. Physiology & Behavior, 101, 731-737.

Lim, J., Wood, A. and Green, B.G. Derivation and evaluation of a labeled hedonic scale. Chemical Senses 34: 739-754, 2009.

Green, B.G. (2004) Temperature perception and nociception. Journal of Neurobiology, 61: 13-29.

Green, B.G. and Zaharchuk, R. (2001) Spatial variation in sensitivity as a factor in measurements of spatial summation of warmth and cold. Somatosensory and Motor Research, 18, 181-190.

Cruz, A. and Green, B.G. (2000) Thermal stimulation of taste. Nature, 403, 889-892.

Laboratory Members