Tested 21 depressive and 18 nondepressive hospitalized psychiatric patients to quantify disturbances in perception of the 4 basic taste modalities: sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. It was hypothesized that measurable function-disturbances would exist. The function of the sense of taste was expressed both in the determination of the discrimination-threshold and by the quantitative indication of the incidence of errors in each of the 4 basic taste modalities. Simultaneously, the state of depression of each S was rated by means of the Hamilton score. Comparison of results obtained from 3 critical phases of hospitalization and from statistical evaluation of findings show that:(a) depressed Ss have a higher threshold for all the basic taste modalities than the nondepressed;(b) there is significantly higher incidence of inconsistency in the recognition of the stimuli in depressive Ss;(c) there is positive correlation between the typical symptoms of depression and findings regarding the function of the sense of taste; and (d) there is close correlation between recovery from depression and the restitution of the functioning of taste. The possible mechanisms involved in these phenomena are discussed.(23 ref.)(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)