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'''Taste''' is one of the most common and fundamental of ] in life on ]. It is the direct detection of chemical composition, usually through contact with chemoreceptor cells. Taste is very similar to ] (the sense of smell), in which the chemical composition of an organism's ambient medium is detected by chemoreceptors. In a liquid medium, taste is often used to describe this act as well. '''Taste''' is one of the most common and fundamental of ] in life on ]. It is the direct detection of chemical composition, usually through contact with ] cells. Taste is very similar to ] (the sense of smell), in which the chemical composition of an organism's ambient medium is detected by chemoreceptors. In a liquid medium, taste is often used to describe this act as well.


In humans, the sense of taste is conveyed via three of the twelve cranial nerves. The ] (VII) carries taste sensations from the anterior two thirds of the ], the ] (IX) carries taste sensations from the posterior one third of the tongue while a branch of the ] (X) carries some taste sensations from the back of the oral cavity. Information from these cranial nerves is processed by the ]. In humans, the sense of taste is ] by ]s and is conveyed via three of the twelve cranial nerves. The ] (VII) carries taste sensations from the anterior two thirds of the ], the ] (IX) carries taste sensations from the posterior one third of the tongue while a branch of the ] (X) carries some taste sensations from the back of the oral cavity. Information from these cranial nerves is processed by the ].


As a general rule taste is a global fuzzy assessment of the interaction of fundamental taste systems of sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and ]. Location is not a characteristic of this system. However, the tongue can be stimulated with electrial shocks drawing a picture and a person can learn to see with his tongue. Once he has done this the electrical shocks can be placed on his back to draw a picture and he can see it with no training. As a general rule, taste is a global fuzzy assessment of the interaction of the fundamental taste systems of sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and ]. Location of the stimulus on the tongue is not important, despite the common misperception of a "taste map" of preference for different tastes in specific areas of the tongue . In reality, the seperate populations of taste buds sensing each of the ] are distributed across the tongue.


If half of the tongue is blocked from sending information to the brain, people will report that a doubling of psychological perception has occurred for sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Salty taste will be reported as being at the correct one half level. Salt slows down the firing frequency of nerve cells on the tongue. Salt can be used to reduce the bitterness of foods. If half of the tongue is blocked from sending information to the brain, people will report that a doubling of psychological perception has occurred for sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Salty taste will be reported as being at the correct one half level. Salt slows down the firing frequency of nerve cells on the tongue. Salt can be used to reduce the bitterness of foods.


''See also ]''
There two types of chemoreceptors, direct and distance. Direct focuses mainly on taste, blood, and senosor. Distance focuses on smell and anntannae for some organisms. Peromores would be a type of distance chemoreceptors, smell; a "organic chemical released from one individual that causes a physiological or behavioral changes in another indivial (Perkins 11-24-03)."

For example, the ''Bombyx mori'' is a silkworm that uses pheromores in its female in which the male, with two anntannaes that have over 20,000 receptors, detects the location of the female from afar.

''See also ], ]''


==Taste in aesthetics== ==Taste in aesthetics==

Revision as of 19:08, 8 July 2004

Taste is one of the most common and fundamental of the senses in life on Earth. It is the direct detection of chemical composition, usually through contact with chemoreceptor cells. Taste is very similar to olfaction (the sense of smell), in which the chemical composition of an organism's ambient medium is detected by chemoreceptors. In a liquid medium, taste is often used to describe this act as well.

In humans, the sense of taste is transduced by taste buds and is conveyed via three of the twelve cranial nerves. The facial nerve (VII) carries taste sensations from the anterior two thirds of the tongue, the glossopharyngeal nerve (IX) carries taste sensations from the posterior one third of the tongue while a branch of the vagus nerve (X) carries some taste sensations from the back of the oral cavity. Information from these cranial nerves is processed by the gustatory system.

As a general rule, taste is a global fuzzy assessment of the interaction of the fundamental taste systems of sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami. Location of the stimulus on the tongue is not important, despite the common misperception of a "taste map" of preference for different tastes in specific areas of the tongue . In reality, the seperate populations of taste buds sensing each of the basic tastes are distributed across the tongue.

If half of the tongue is blocked from sending information to the brain, people will report that a doubling of psychological perception has occurred for sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Salty taste will be reported as being at the correct one half level. Salt slows down the firing frequency of nerve cells on the tongue. Salt can be used to reduce the bitterness of foods.

See also Flavor

Taste in aesthetics

Taste can also refer to one's appreciation for aesthetic quality. Paul Graham notes, "I think it's easier to see ugliness than to imagine beauty. The recipe for great work is: very exacting taste."

Taste as a metaphor for experience or knowledge

To taste can also be another way of saying one can "experience" or "know" what something is by investigating its characteristics and innate qualities through direct physical interaction, so as to make distinctions. Examples: "I've had a taste of that kind of situation and I would never willingly do it again"; "It left a bad taste in my mind, I know it wasn't a mentally healthy thing for me to do." A good synonym would be "test".

See also