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Updated: May 13, 2026
10:59
New Methods to Study Gustatory Coding
Published on: June 29, 2017
Thermal stimulation of taste
1The John B. Pierce Laboratory, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06519, USA.
Nature
|March 8, 2000
Summary
Temperature changes on the tongue can surprisingly evoke taste sensations like sweetness, sourness, and saltiness. This research reveals thermal sensitivity in taste nerves, challenging previous assumptions about the gustatory system.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sensory Science
- Gustatory System Research
Background:
- Electrophysiological recordings show significant thermal sensitivity in mammalian taste nerves.
- It was previously assumed that temperature stimulation within the gustatory system does not elicit taste sensations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether thermal stimulation of the tongue can induce taste sensations.
- To explore the role of temperature in the human gustatory system's neural coding.
Main Methods:
- Applied localized warming and cooling to specific areas of the anterior and posterior tongue.
- Recorded electrophysiological responses from relevant taste nerves (chorda tympani and glossopharyngeal).
Main Results:
- Warming the anterior tongue from a cold state evoked sweetness.
- Cooling the anterior tongue evoked sourness and/or saltiness.
- Distinct thermal-taste relationships were observed on the rear of the tongue.
Conclusions:
- Thermal stimulation of the tongue can directly cause taste sensations.
- The human gustatory system possesses diverse thermally sensitive neurons contributing to taste perception.
- These findings challenge prior assumptions and highlight temperature's role in taste coding.
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