Regional Differences in Taste Responsiveness: Effect of Stimulus and Tasting Mode

Previous studies have shown that there are differences in taste responses between various regions of the tongue. Most of those studies used a controlled "passive" tasting mode due to the nature of investigation. However, food is rarely tasted in a passive manner. In addition, recent studies have suggested that humans can taste maltooligosaccharides (MOS) and that the gustatory detection of MOS is independent of the known sweet receptor. It is unknown whether regional differences in responsiveness to MOS exist. This study was set up to revisit previous work by investigating the effects of tasting mode ("passive" vs. "active") on regional differences in taste responsiveness to sucrose, monopotassium glutamate (MPG), and quinine, while also investigating potential regional differences in responsiveness to MOS. The stimuli were applied to 1 of 4 target areas, the left and right sides of the front and back of the tongue, using cotton-tipped swabs. In the passive tasting condition, the front of the tongue was found to be more responsive to both sucrose and MOS, but no regional differences were seen for quinine and MPG. In contrast, in the active tasting condition, the back of the tongue was found to be more responsive to quinine and MPG, but no differences were found for sucrose or MOS. These findings indicate that there are regional differences in taste responsiveness between the front and back of the tongue and that regional responsiveness is dependent on stimulus and tasting mode.