Sweet taste test may reveal hidden clues about mental health
NCT ID NCT06697847
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study explores whether the ability to detect sweetness is linked to mood in healthy adults. Researchers will measure the lowest concentration of sugar water that participants can taste and compare it with scores on a standard mood questionnaire. The goal is to better understand how taste perception might relate to mental health, potentially paving the way for new screening approaches.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help identify taste-based markers for mood disorders, potentially leading to earlier detection or new screening tools.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage observational study in healthy volunteers, so results may not apply to people with mood disorders. It is exploratory and not designed to test a treatment.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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30 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Nov 2024
- Finished
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Mar 2025
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
Adults without mood questionnaires recruited by word of mouth and posters in retail establishments in England and Wales
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: . Male and female adults of 18 years old and over; * Participants without a diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) / anxiety disorder; * Participants not taking an antidepressant during the preceding 6 months * Not suffering from significant other mental or physical illness, such as confirmed psychosis, end of life care, or any other condition assessed as significant by the Site Investigator; * Willing and able to comply with all study-related procedures; * Not having COVID 19 or continuing effects of COVID 19 including altered sense of taste; * Understands the study requirements and the treatment procedures and is able to provide written informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * Taking antidepressant medication currently or during the previous 6 months; * Known or suspected hypersensitivity or intolerance to any taste testing solutions, or any of their excipients; * A history or presence of neurological or confounding psychiatric conditions (such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, space occupying lesions, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, vascular dementia, transient ischemic attack, or schizophrenia); * Patients with a diagnosis of chronic pain; * Pregnancy or possibility pregnancy, or breastfeeding; * Participants using supplements containing psychoactive herbs (for example St Johns Wort or 5-HTP (5-Hydroxytryptophan, also known as oxitriptan); * Participants regularly using psychoactive stimulants (for example MDMA); * Participants unable or unwilling to comply with study procedures.
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Westbury Lodge, Westbury Park
Bristol, City Of Bristol, BS6 7JE, United Kingdom