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Related Concept Videos

Gustation01:43

Gustation

Gustation is a chemical sense that, along with olfaction (smell), contributes to our perception of taste. It starts with the activation of receptors by chemical compounds (tastants) dissolved in the saliva. The saliva and filiform papillae on the tongue distribute the tastants and increase their exposure to the taste receptors.
The Physiology of Taste01:24

The Physiology of Taste

The perception of a salty flavor is facilitated by sodium ions within the oral salivary fluid. Upon consumption of a salty substance, salt crystals disassemble, leading to the liberation of its constituents—Na+ and Cl- ions. These ions subsequently dissolve into the salivary fluid present in the oral cavity. The external environment of the gustatory cells experiences an elevation in Na+ concentration, thereby establishing a potent concentration gradient. This gradient propels the diffusion of...
Taste Buds and Receptors01:20

Taste Buds and Receptors

Gustation, or the sense of taste, is intrinsically linked to the anatomical structures located on the tongue. This organ's surface, along with the entirety of the oral cavity, is adorned with stratified squamous epithelium. Evident on the tongue are elevated structures known as papillae (singular = papilla), which house the mechanisms for the transduction of gustatory stimuli. Four distinct types of papillae exist, each identified by their unique morphological attributes: the circumvallate,...
Tactile and Chemical Senses01:27

Tactile and Chemical Senses

Tactile senses encompass touch, temperature, and pain, each mediated by specific receptors. Touch receptors detect mechanical energy or pressure against the skin. Sensory fibers from these receptors enter the spinal cord and relay information to the brain stem. Here, most fibers cross over to the opposite side of the brain. The touch information then moves to the thalamus, which projects a map of the body's surface onto the somatosensory areas of the parietal lobes in the cerebral cortex. This...
Conditioned Taste Aversion01:14

Conditioned Taste Aversion

Conditioned taste aversion, also known as sauce béarnaise syndrome, is a phenomenon in which an individual develops an aversion to a certain food taste following a negative experience, typically illness. This form of aversion is a type of classical conditioning in which the taste of the food (conditioned stimulus, CS) is associated with the experience of illness (unconditioned stimulus, UCS).
A notable characteristic of conditioned taste aversion is that it often requires only a single exposure...
Olfaction01:25

Olfaction

The sense of smell is achieved through the activities of the olfactory system. It starts when an airborne odorant enters the nasal cavity and reaches olfactory epithelium (OE). The OE is protected by a thin layer of mucus, which also serves the purpose of dissolving more complex compounds into simpler chemical odorants. The size of the OE and the density of sensory neurons varies among species; in humans, the OE is only about 9-10 cm2.
The olfactory receptors are embedded in the cilia of the...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 23, 2026

Psychophysical Tracking Method to Measure Taste Preferences in Children and Adults
09:17

Psychophysical Tracking Method to Measure Taste Preferences in Children and Adults

Published on: July 16, 2016

Chemosensory learning and flavour: perception, preference and intake.

John Prescott1

  • 1TasteMatters Research & Consulting, Sydney, Australia. Prescott@taste-matters.org

Physiology & Behavior
|April 25, 2012
PubMed
Summary

Flavour perception arises from integrating taste, smell, and mouthfeel. Associative learning shapes how these senses combine, influencing flavour preference and memory.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Sensory Science
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Flavour is increasingly viewed as a cognitive construct.
  • It emerges from integrating gustatory, olfactory, and oral somatosensory inputs.
  • Multi-sensory interactions are key to understanding flavour perception.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the functional flavour system.
  • To investigate the role of associative learning in flavour perception.
  • To understand how sensory inputs are encoded as configural stimuli.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of perceptual interactions across sensory channels.
  • Examination of associative learning paradigms involving odours and tastes.
  • Studies on attentional effects during flavour learning.

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Integration of Animal Behavioral Assessment and Convolutional Neural Network to Study Wasabi-Alcohol Taste-Smell Interaction
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Integration of Animal Behavioral Assessment and Convolutional Neural Network to Study Wasabi-Alcohol Taste-Smell Interaction

Published on: August 16, 2024

New Methods to Study Gustatory Coding
10:59

New Methods to Study Gustatory Coding

Published on: June 29, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 23, 2026

Psychophysical Tracking Method to Measure Taste Preferences in Children and Adults
09:17

Psychophysical Tracking Method to Measure Taste Preferences in Children and Adults

Published on: July 16, 2016

Integration of Animal Behavioral Assessment and Convolutional Neural Network to Study Wasabi-Alcohol Taste-Smell Interaction
06:19

Integration of Animal Behavioral Assessment and Convolutional Neural Network to Study Wasabi-Alcohol Taste-Smell Interaction

Published on: August 16, 2024

New Methods to Study Gustatory Coding
10:59

New Methods to Study Gustatory Coding

Published on: June 29, 2017

Main Results:

  • Evidence for a functional flavour system dependent on associative learning.
  • Flavour is encoded as a configural stimulus through spatial and temporal sensory pairing.
  • Encoding alters perceptual properties and hedonic valence, with learned associations influencing appetitive effects.

Conclusions:

  • Flavour perception is a dynamic cognitive process shaped by multi-sensory integration and associative learning.
  • Learned associations between sensory inputs and consequences influence hedonic value and behaviour.
  • Odours and flavours act as conditioned cues with significant appetitive effects.