A Study of Taste- and Olfactory-Evoked Potentials in Patients With Visual Impairment: Taste, Smell, and Vision (GOUSTAVIS)

July 15, 2026 updated by: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Dijon
Visual impairment, whether central or peripheral, may influence the plasticity of other sensory modalities, such as taste and smell. Taste-evoked potentials (TEPs) and smell-evoked potentials (SEPs)-methods for analyzing brain activity in response to taste and smell stimuli-allow for the objective assessment of these interactions. This approach has already demonstrated its value in the study of cognitive disorders. This study aims to demonstrate an enhancement of taste and smell capabilities that could compensate for specific visual impairments, particularly in situations involving food choices.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

50

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adult: ≥ 18 years and ≤ 60 years
  • Individual who has given oral consent
  • Individual who has been fasting (no food, drink, or tobacco) for at least 1 hour prior to PEG and PEO measurement
  • No cognitive complaints and normal neurological examination.
  • Group of patients with visual impairment:

A. Central: documented bilateral macular dystrophy (e.g., Stargardt disease, Best disease) with confirmed central scotoma (CV 24.2, 10.2, or 30.2).

B. Peripheral: documented bilateral peripheral retinal dystrophy with confirmed peripheral involvement (CV 30-2 or 24-2).

• Control group: a person with normal vision and no known ophthalmological abnormalities (normal visual acuity and fundus examination) who is precisely matched by sex and smoking status (former smoker who has quit vs. nonsmoker), and approximately matched by age (± 5 years) to a visually impaired participant included in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

For this group: patients with visual impairments:

  • Individuals who are not enrolled in or eligible for a social security program
  • Individuals subject to a legal protective measure (guardianship, conservatorship)
  • Individuals subject to judicial safeguard measures
  • Adults who are legally incapacitated or unable to give informed consent
  • Documented COVID-19 infection within the 6 months prior to enrollment
  • Active smokers (≥1 cigarette per day) or users of any other inhaled substances (water pipe, cannabis, etc.)
  • Participants following a sugar-free diet
  • Participants with diabetes, of any type
  • Participants taking medication (ongoing during the study) that interferes with taste perception • Pregnant or breastfeeding women
  • Individuals with neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson's, Alzheimer's)
  • Individuals with braids, dreadlocks, or any other hairstyle that prevents electrodes from being placed in sufficiently precise locations on the scalp.
  • Overweight subjects with a BMI ≥ 35 kg/m²

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Healthy volunteers
Other: Taste and smell evaluation
Determination of taste and smell ability scores using standardized methods (ETOC and Taste Strips)
Other: Recording of evoked potentials (EP)
A recording of gustatory evoked potentials (GEP) and olfactory evoked potentials (OEP) in response to stimuli consisting of sucrose solution, vanillin, and a combination of the two.
Other: Patients with retinal dystrophy and central or peripheral visual field defects
Other: Taste and smell evaluation
Determination of taste and smell ability scores using standardized methods (ETOC and Taste Strips)
Other: Recording of evoked potentials (EP)
A recording of gustatory evoked potentials (GEP) and olfactory evoked potentials (OEP) in response to stimuli consisting of sucrose solution, vanillin, and a combination of the two.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Average latency of PEG (Taste-Evoked Potentials) peaks
Time Frame: At the baseline
Measurement of the mean latency of taste-evoked potential peaks in visually impaired patients versus control subjects following purely gustatory stimulation (sucrose).
At the baseline
Average amplitude of PEG (Taste-Evoked Potentials) peaks
Time Frame: At the baseline
Measurement of the mean amplitude of taste-evoked potential peaks in visually impaired patients versus control subjects following purely gustatory stimulation (sucrose).
At the baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Dijon

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 2, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 15, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 16, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 16, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 15, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • GABRIELLE 2026

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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