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Taste Buds and Receptors

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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,...

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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.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 19, 2026

Measuring Oral Fatty Acid Thresholds, Fat Perception, Fatty Food Liking, and Papillae Density in Humans

Measuring Oral Fatty Acid Thresholds, Fat Perception, Fatty Food Liking, and Papillae Density in Humans

Published on: June 4, 2014

Gustatory perception alterations in obesity: an fMRI study.

Csaba Szalay¹, Mihály Aradi, Attila Schwarcz

¹Institute of Physiology and Neurophysiology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pécs University, Medical School, Hungary. csaba.szalay@aok.pte.hu

|August 14, 2012

Summary

Obese patients show distinct brain responses to taste stimuli compared to healthy individuals. These gustatory alterations in the brain may be key to understanding and treating obesity.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Metabolic Diseases
Sensory Science

Background:

Feeding-associated and metabolic diseases lack complete understanding.
Gustatory (taste) alterations may play a significant role in these conditions.
Obesity is a complex metabolic disease with potential links to taste perception.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate differences in cerebral activation patterns in response to gustatory stimuli between obese patients and healthy controls.
To explore the role of taste perception alterations in the pathophysiology of obesity.

Main Methods:

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activity.
Twelve obese patients and twelve age/gender-matched healthy controls participated.
Stimuli included sucrose (pleasant), quinine HCl (aversive), and a palatable vanilla-flavored solution, alongside distilled water (neutral).

Main Results:

Obese patients exhibited stronger activation in cortical (anterior cingulate cortex, insular, opercular, orbitofrontal cortices) and subcortical (amygdala, nucleus accumbens, putamen, pallidum) areas compared to controls for all taste stimuli.
Distinct and characteristic brain activity changes were observed between the two groups in response to taste stimuli.
Differential activation patterns were evident for pleasant and unpleasant gustatory stimuli in obese individuals.

Conclusions:

Obesity is associated with altered brain responses to gustatory stimuli.
These taste-related brain differences may be significant in the development and maintenance of obesity.
Findings suggest potential for new therapeutic and preventive strategies targeting gustatory pathways.