Flexible Tongue Electrode Array System for In Vivo Mapping of Electrical Signals of Taste Sensation

Tongue is a unique organ that senses tastes, and the scientific puzzle about whether electricity can evoke taste sensations and how the sensations have been distributed on the tongue has not been solved. Investigations on tongue stimulation by electricity might benefit the developments of techniques for clinical neuromodulation, tissue activation, and a brain-tongue-machine interface. To solve the scientific puzzle of whether electrical stimulation induces taste-related sensations, a portable flexible tongue electrode array system (FTEAS) was developed, which can synchronously provide electrical stimulation and signal mapping at each zone of the tongue. Utilizing the FTEAS to perform tests on the rat tongue in vivo, specific electrical signals were observed to be evoked by chemical and electrical stimulations. The features and distributions of the electric signals evoked during the rat tongue tests were systematically studied and comprehensively analyzed. The results show that an appropriate electrical stimulation can induce multiple sensations simultaneously, while the distribution of each sensation was not significantly distinguished among different zones of the tongue, and at the same time, this taste-related electrical signal can be recorded by the FTEAS. This work establishes a promising platform to solve the scientific puzzle of how sensations are activated chemically and electrically on the tongue and may provide advanced noninvasive oral-electrotherapy and a brain-tongue-machine interface.