Tip of My Tongue

(source 37)

Such a Sweeeet Sensation

The five taste sensations are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami (the flavor of glutamates). Though it is true that tongue receptors can identify five basic sensations, they are not divided into sections on the tongue; it can taste all five anywhere on it nearly equally. For example, you do not only taste salt when it is placed on one are of your tongue. You can discern any flavor at any point where taste receptors exist (34, 35).

(source 36)

Just Gustation

Gustation, or tasting, is the process by which chemical signals are changed into neural impulses via the tongue. Chemicals in food activate a certain type of sensory receptor known as a gustatory receptor. About 50 of these cells make up a single taste bud. Chemical molecules are mixed with saliva, then they enter the receptor cell through an opening called a taste pore. It then reaches the gustatory hairs which turn the chemical messages into neural impulses. The brain receives these impulses and perceives taste (33) .

We’re All in This Together

The senses don’t always operate independently. Sensory interaction is the relationship between senses and how they affect each other. For example, taste and smell often coincide. Smell helps define the flavor of a food, which explains why when you are congested food seems more tasteless (32).