PSYC 1000U Lecture Notes - Taste Bud, Taste Receptor, Sensory Neuron
Document Summary
Gustation and olfaction have a similar task: the detection of environmental chemicals. In fact, only by using both sense can the nervous system perceive flavour. However, the systems of gestation and olfaction are separate and different from the structures and mechanisms of their chemoreceptors, to the gross organization of their central connections, to their effects on behaviour. The neural information from each system is processed in parallel and is merged at rather high levels in the cerebral cortex. It is likely that we can recognize only a few basic tastes. First, each food activates a different combination of the basic tastes. Second, most foods have a distinctive flavour as a result of their taste and smell occurring simultaneously. Third, other sensory modalities contribute to a unique food-tasting experience (e. g. texture, temperature, and pain sensations) Although we taste with our tongue, there are other areas of the mouth (e. g. palate, pharynx, and epiglottis) that are also involved.
