Abstract
The present study was designed to explore how weight or volume of bolus in the oral cavity is evaluated with a magnitude estimation method in healthy subjects. A total of 46 healthy young female subjects was divided into two groups: one (n=26) was for the evaluation of 'bolus weight (BW)', and the other (n=20) was for that of 'bolus volume (BV)'. Tap water (17℃) was used to simulate bolus in the oral cavity. Seven stages from 10 to 40 gm or mL of water were delivered to the subjects in randomized order. The subjects were instructed to evaluate the subjective magnitude of the 7 stages of BW or BV, and 20 gm or mL of water was used as the standard stimulus. Four trials were conducted for each stage in each subject. The estimated magnitudes (Ψ) obtained were that: Ψ=2.877S1.152 (S, stimulus intensity; BW by median), Ψ=3.228S1.125 (BW by geometrical mean), Ψ=2.944S1.151 (BV by median), and Ψ=3.784S1.080 (BV by geometrical mean). The present results clearly show that the power law by Stevens is applicable to sensory evaluation of both bolus weight and bolus volume in the oral cavity.
