Facial electromyography: responses of children to odor and taste stimuli

The study investigated the potential for facial electromyography (EMG) to be used as a clinical tool for measuring the responses of children to pleasant and unpleasant smell and taste stimuli. Responses in the zygomaticus major and levator labii muscles to 4 odorants and 4 tastants were recorded from 34 children aged 6-9 years. The results indicated that EMG activities in the 2 muscles discriminated between pleasant and unpleasant stimuli within each modality in a manner that indicated that the children perceived the hedonic qualities of the stimuli in a manner similar to that reported for adults. Importantly, there was unanimous agreement across the children as regards the differential nature of the activities exhibited. These outcomes together with the results of earlier facial expression studies suggest that facial EMG may provide an objective procedure that could be suitable for the clinical assessment of taste and smell function in newborns and young infants.