Taste
hideTaste (or, more formally, gustation) is a form of direct chemoreception and is one of the traditional five senses. It refers to the ability to detect the flavor of substances such as food, certain minerals, and poisons. In humans and many other vertebrate animals the sense of taste partners with the less direct sense of smell, in the brain's perception of flavor. In the West, experts traditionally identified four taste sensations: sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. Eastern experts traditionally identified a fifth, called umami (savory). More recently, psychophysicists and neuroscientists have suggested other taste categories (umami and fatty acid taste most prominently, as well as the sensation of metallic and water tastes, although the latter is commonly disregarded due to the phenomenon of taste adaptation.[citation needed]) Taste is a sensory function of the central nervous system. The receptor cells for taste in humans are found on the surface of the tongue, along the soft palate, and in the epithelium of the pharynx and epiglottis.
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News tagged with taste
Got smell? Research shows that accurate taste perception relies on a functioning olfactory system
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 22, 2009 |
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As anyone suffering through a head cold knows, food tastes wrong when the nose is clogged, an experience that leads many to conclude that the sense of taste operates normally only when the olfactory system is also in good ...
Enhanced sweet taste: This is your tongue on pot
Dec 22, 2009 |
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New findings from the Monell Center and Kyushu University in Japan report that endocannabinoids act directly on taste receptors on the tongue to enhance sweet taste.
'Nature or nurture' study reveals 'musical genes' (w/ Video)
Nov 12, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- If you've ever wondered why a close group of friends might like completely different types of music, blame their genes. A study by Nokia and Kings' College London into the musical tastes of nearly 4,000 twins ...
Scientists discover protein receptor for carbonation taste
Oct 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In 1767, chemist Joseph Priestley stood in his laboratory one day with an idea to help English mariners stay healthy on long ocean voyages. He infused water with carbon dioxide to create an effervescent ...
You Are What You Listen To
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Aug 27, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- It may not be possible to judge a book by its cover, but judging someone by the contents of their iTunes library could be a very different story, new research suggests.
Smokers' tongues fail taste test
Aug 19, 2009 |
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Smokers have fewer and flatter taste buds. A study of the tongues of 62 Greek soldiers, published in the open access journal BMC Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders, has demonstrated how cigarettes deaden the ability to taste. ...
A matter of taste: Food ads work better if all senses are involved
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Aug 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Do potato chips taste better if an advertisement describes their crunchy sound? Is popcorn more flavorful if its buttery aroma is also depicted in an ad? Researchers at the University of Michigan say yes.
Good taste measured by science; oleic acid in beef used to predict taste
Aug 03, 2009 |
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Different projects and research are under way to create standards indicating how good agricultural and livestock products taste.
Taste sensation: Ads work better if all senses are involved
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Jul 20, 2009 |
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Corporations spend billions of dollars each year on food advertising. For example, Kraft Foods, PepsiCo, and McDonald's each spent more than $1 billion in advertising in 2007. A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research sugges ...
Variants of 'umami' taste receptor contribute to our individualized flavor worlds
Jul 08, 2009 |
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Using a combination of sensory, genetic, and in vitro approaches, researchers from the Monell Center confirm that the T1R1-T1R3 taste receptor plays a role in human umami (amino acid) taste.
Flies avoid a plant's poison using a newly identified taste mechanism
Jun 30, 2009 |
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Many plants protect themselves from hungry animals by producing toxic chemicals. In turn, animals rely on detecting the presence of these harmful chemicals to avoid consuming dangerous plant material. A paper, published in ...
Pigeons have eye for paintings: Japan study
Jun 25, 2009 |
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Pigeons may sometimes appear to randomly target city sculptures with their droppings, but according to a new Japanese study they also have the potential to become discerning art critics.
The UK's 'taste dialects' defined for the first time
Jun 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Where we are born not only determines how we speak but also how we taste our food and drink.
Red pandas reveal an unexpected (artificial) sweet tooth
Apr 15, 2009 |
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Researchers from the Monell Center report that the red panda is the first non-primate mammal to display a liking for the artificial sweetener aspartame. This unexpected affinity for an artificial sweetener may reflect structural ...
Taste, odor intervention improves cancer therapy
Mar 31, 2009 |
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Cancer and its therapies, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, may directly alter and damage taste and odor perception, possibly leading to patient malnutrition, and in severe cases, significant morbidity, according to ...
