Tasting temperature: neural and behavioral responses to thermal stimulation of oral mucosa

Temperature sensation contributes to human enjoyment of foods and beverages. The mouthfeel of warmed foods or drinking ice-cold water on a hot day are respectively pleasant and refreshing. Although historically under-studied for a role in food preference, new data have shed light on how oral temperature sensing and thermoreceptor mechanisms inside the mouth influence ingestive acceptance behaviors in rodent models used in flavor neurobiology. Moreover, recent functional data have uncovered a broad diversity of thermosensory neurons in primary afferents and brain pathways that signal oral temperature. This review will discuss some of the progress made in these areas. Ultimately, unraveling the biological basis of oral temperature sensing will be critical to reveal how thermosensory factors interact with other orosensory modalities to shape ingestive preferences. Elucidating oral thermal processing will also be key for establishing general principles of temperature coding by the nervous system.