- gustatory aura
- The term gustatory aura comes from the Latin noun gustus (taste) and the Greek noun aura (wind, breeze, smell). It used to denote a type of *aura that manifests itself in the form of a *gustatory hallucination or *illusion. The gustatory aura has been described since ancient times. It is mentioned in combination with an * olfactory aura, both occurring in the context of epilepsy, by the classical physician Aretaeus of Cappado-cia (c. AD 150). Phenomenologically, gustatory aurae can be indistinguishable from * olfactory aurae, probably because both are experienced as an aromatic sensation in the absence of an appropriate source in the external world. When gustatory aurae occur in conjunction with hallucinations in any of the other sensory modalities or with alterations in the sense of familiarity, they are under certain circumstances designated as *psychic aurae. Etiologically, the gustatory aura is associated primarily with paroxysmal neurological disorders such as epilepsy and migraine. Pathophysiologically, it is associated primarily with aberrant neuronal discharges in the primary gustatory areas (which are tentatively located in the temporal and parietal lobes) or in any other central part of the gustatory system.ReferencesHallen, O. (1982). Dreamy states, olfaktorische und Gesmackshalluzinationen epileptischer Genese.In: Halluzinationen bei Epilepsien und ihre Differentialdiagnose.Editedby Karbowski, K. Bern: Verlag Hans Huber.Lüders, H., Acharya, J., Baumgartner, C., Banbadis, S., Bleasel, A., Burgess, R., Dinner, D.S., Ebner, A., Foldvary, N., Geller, E., Hamer, H., Holthausen, H., Kotagal, P., Morris, H., Meencke, H.J., Noachtar, S., Rosenow, F., Sakamotot, A., Steinhoff, B.J., Tuxhorn, I., Wyllie, E. (1998). Semiological seizure classification. Epilepsia, 39, 1006-1013.
Dictionary of Hallucinations. J.D. Blom. 2010.