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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 15, 2026

A Simple and Inexpensive Method for Determining Cold Sensitivity and Adaptation in Mice

A Simple and Inexpensive Method for Determining Cold Sensitivity and Adaptation in Mice

Published on: March 17, 2015

Adding cocoa to sucrose: the effect on cold pain tolerance.

Kristina Eggleston¹, Theresa L White, Paul R Sheehe

¹Department of Psychology, Le Moyne College, 1419 Salt Springs Road, Syracuse, NY 13214, USA.

Chemical Senses

|March 4, 2010

Summary

Adding bitter cocoa to sweet sucrose reduced its pain-relieving effects. This suggests that the bitterness counteracts sucrose

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Sensory Science
Pain Research

Background:

Sweet tastes, like sucrose, can act as analgesics, reducing pain perception.
Bitter substances, conversely, tend to decrease pain tolerance.
The interaction between taste qualities and pain modulation is complex and not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the analgesic effect of a complex taste involving both sweet and bitter components.
To determine how adding cocoa, a bitter substance, to a sucrose solution influences cold pain tolerance.
To explore the role of bitterness in modulating the analgesic properties of sucrose.

Main Methods:

Twenty-four male participants underwent Cold Pressor Tests (CPTs) while holding water, sucrose, or a sucrose-cocoa solution in their mouths.

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Last Updated: Jun 15, 2026

A Simple and Inexpensive Method for Determining Cold Sensitivity and Adaptation in Mice

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Participants rated pain intensity and tastant qualities after each CPT.

Pain tolerance duration and subjective ratings of sweetness, bitterness, and pleasantness were recorded.

Main Results:

Intraoral sucrose significantly increased pain tolerance duration compared to water.
The sucrose-cocoa solution did not enhance pain tolerance; it was rated as more bitter than sucrose alone.
Increased bitterness of the cocoa solution correlated with a reduction in pain tolerance duration.

Conclusions:

The addition of bitterness to sucrose diminishes its analgesic effect, likely by interfering with the cues to its nutritive value.
Taste perception, specifically the balance of sweet and bitter, plays a crucial role in modulating pain perception.
Further research into taste-based pain modulation could lead to novel analgesic strategies.