Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

The Physiology of Taste

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...

Gustation

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.

Thermosensation

Thermosensation

Peripheral thermosensation is the perception of external temperature. A change in temperature (on the surface of the skin and other tissues) is detected by a family of temperature-sensitive ion channels called Transient Receptor Potential, or TRP, receptors. These receptors are located on free nerve endings. Those detecting cold temperatures are closer to the surface of the skin than the nerve endings detecting warmth. These thermoTRP channels, while temperature selective, have relatively...

Taste Buds and Receptors

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,...

Conditioned Taste Aversion

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...

Neural Regulation

Neural Regulation

Digestion begins with a cephalic phase that prepares the digestive system to receive food. When our brain processes visual or olfactory information about food, it triggers impulses in the cranial nerves innervating the salivary glands and stomach to prepare for food.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Discovery of a Thermostable Nigerose Phosphorylase for the Efficient Chemoenzymatic Radiosynthesis of a <i>S. aureus</i>-Targeted <sup>18</sup>F-Disaccharide.

Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine·2026

Same author

Orchestrated metal ion repositioning defines the dynamic catalytic strategy of the essential DNA repair nuclease APE1.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Detecting Bacteria in Their Mammalian Hosts Using Metabolism-Targeted [<sup>13</sup>C]CO<sub>2</sub> Breath Testing.

ACS central science·2026

Same author

Temperature effects on taste preferences are influenced by TRPM8.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Role of mitochondria in neuronal function and survival in the enteric and central nervous systems.

Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS·2026

Same author

Synergistic Treatment of Prostate Cancer and Multiple Myeloma using CD46-Targeted Radioimmunotherapy Antibody-Drug Conjugates.

Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 10, 2026

New Methods to Study Gustatory Coding

New Methods to Study Gustatory Coding

Published on: June 29, 2017

Modulation of central gustatory coding by temperature.

David M Wilson¹, Christian H Lemon

¹Department of Pharmacological and Physiological Science, St. Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Journal of Neurophysiology

|June 14, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Oral temperature significantly impacts taste perception. Warming taste solutions alters neural responses, demonstrating temperature as a key factor in gustatory processing within the brainstem.

Keywords:

multimodal neural coding nucleus of the solitary tract taste temperature

More Related Videos

Whole-Mount Staining, Visualization, and Analysis of Fungiform, Circumvallate, and Palate Taste Buds

Whole-Mount Staining, Visualization, and Analysis of Fungiform, Circumvallate, and Palate Taste Buds

Published on: February 11, 2021

In Vivo Calcium Imaging of Neuronal Ensembles in Networks of Primary Sensory Neurons in Intact Dorsal Root Ganglia

In Vivo Calcium Imaging of Neuronal Ensembles in Networks of Primary Sensory Neurons in Intact Dorsal Root Ganglia

Published on: February 10, 2023

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 10, 2026

New Methods to Study Gustatory Coding

New Methods to Study Gustatory Coding

Published on: June 29, 2017

Whole-Mount Staining, Visualization, and Analysis of Fungiform, Circumvallate, and Palate Taste Buds

Whole-Mount Staining, Visualization, and Analysis of Fungiform, Circumvallate, and Palate Taste Buds

Published on: February 11, 2021

In Vivo Calcium Imaging of Neuronal Ensembles in Networks of Primary Sensory Neurons in Intact Dorsal Root Ganglia

In Vivo Calcium Imaging of Neuronal Ensembles in Networks of Primary Sensory Neurons in Intact Dorsal Root Ganglia

Published on: February 10, 2023

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Sensory Physiology
Gustation Research

Background:

Oral temperature influences taste perception, suggesting shared neural pathways for taste and somatosensation.
The processing of combined taste and thermal information by medullary gustatory neurons remains poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how medullary gustatory neurons in the nucleus tractus solitarii respond to varying oral temperatures and taste stimuli.
To elucidate the role of temperature as a parameter in gustatory processing.

Main Methods:

Electrophysiological recordings of orosensory responses from 39 taste-sensitive neurons in anesthetized mice.
Oral delivery of various tastants (sucrose, NaCl, HCl, quinine, umami mixture, water) at different temperatures (cool, room, warm).

Main Results:

Warming solutions significantly excited a majority of neurons, with responses comparable to tastants at room temperature.
Warming altered the distribution of gustatory responses and increased neuronal breadth of tuning.
Superadditive responses were observed for warmed sucrose and umami, indicating synergistic effects of taste and temperature.

Conclusions:

Temperature is a critical parameter in gustatory processing, alongside taste quality and concentration.
Medullary taste circuits integrate thermal information, modulating responses to specific taste qualities.