Taste sensations

Taste sensations is a chemosensory process that is initiated by the interaction of sapid molecules or tastants with ion channels or receptors.

It is the sum of the neural activity in a taste related pathway in the nervous system.

Researchers generally describe taste quality in terms of five basics taste sensations:
*Salty - it is stimulated by chemical salts
*Sour – it is caused by acids, which contain a free hydrogen ion, H+
*Sweet
*Bitter
*Umami - Umami has been describe as meaty, brothy or savory. It was identified and named by a Japanese researcher is triggered by amino acids

Most of the cells of a taste bud are sensory cells. Taste receptors cells are located primarily within tongue taste buds.

At their apical ends, they are connected laterally by tight junctions and they bear microvilli that greatly increase the surface area they present to the environment.

A taste bud consist of about 50 long, spindle shaped taste receptor cells packaged with supporting cells in an arrangement like slices of an orange.

Two nerves carrying impulses from the tongue – the facial nerve and the glossopharyngeal nerve. They first pass an impulses to the specialized cells in the brain stem before transferred through a second set of fibers to the other side of the brain stem and ascend to the thalamus.
Taste sensations