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Related Concept Videos

Taste Buds and Receptors01:20

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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The Physiology of Taste01:24

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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...
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Conditioned Taste Aversion01:14

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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).
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Gustation01:43

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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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The Tongue and Taste Buds00:49

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The surface of the tongue is covered with various small bumps called papillae, which either distribute what has been ingested (filiform papillae) or contain the sensory taste (or gustatory) receptor cells (fungiform, circumvallate, and foliate papillae). Embedded within each taste-related papilla are the taste buds—clusters of 30 to 100 gustatory receptor cells.
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The process of olfaction, also known as the sense of smell, is a sophisticated chemical response system. The specialized sensory neurons that facilitate this process, known as olfactory receptor neurons, are situated in an upper segment of the nasal cavity, known as the olfactory epithelium. Olfactory sensory neurons are bipolar, with their dendrites extending from the epithelium's apex into the mucus that lines the nasal cavity. Airborne molecules, when inhaled, traverse the olfactory...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 11, 2025

Taste Exam: A Brief and Validated Test
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Taste dysfunction in Long COVID.

Hanna Morad1, Tytti Vanhala2, Marta A Kisiel3

  • 1Clinic of Ear, Nose and Throat diseases (ENT), Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden.

Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|August 12, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Long COVID can cause lasting taste loss, impacting sweet, umami, and bitter flavors due to reduced PLCβ2 expression, not widespread taste bud damage. This affects taste receptor cell function after SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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Last Updated: Sep 11, 2025

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07:10

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Generation and Culture of Lingual Organoids Derived from Adult Mouse Taste Stem Cells
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Psychophysical Tracking Method to Assess Taste Detection Thresholds in Children, Adolescents, and Adults: The Taste Detection Threshold TDT Test
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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Immunology
  • Otolaryngology

Background:

  • Persistent taste dysfunction is a recognized symptom of SARS-CoV-2 infection (Long COVID).
  • The histological, cellular, and molecular mechanisms underlying post-COVID taste disturbances remain largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the pathological basis of persistent taste dysfunction in individuals with Long COVID.
  • To correlate taste function with molecular markers in taste receptor cells (TRCs).

Main Methods:

  • Assessed taste function in 28 subjects reporting taste disturbances >12 months post-SARS-CoV-2 using the Waterless Empirical Taste Test (WETT).
  • Collected fungiform papillae biopsies from 20 participants for histological analysis of taste bud structure and innervation.
  • Quantified messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of taste receptor cell markers, including PLCβ2, using quantitative PCR (qPCR).

Main Results:

  • While most subjects reported subjective taste loss, objective testing revealed significant deficits in specific taste qualities for many.
  • Loss of sweet, umami, and bitter taste perception was significantly more common than loss of sour or salty tastes.
  • Reduced PLCβ2 mRNA expression correlated with impaired perception of sweet, umami, and bitter tastes.
  • Histological examination showed generally preserved taste bud structure and innervation, with no widespread damage.

Conclusions:

  • Long-term taste dysfunction following COVID-19 disproportionately affects PLCβ2-dependent taste modalities.
  • The observed taste disturbances are linked to molecular alterations in taste receptor cells, particularly involving the PLCβ2 pathway.
  • Findings suggest that post-COVID taste loss is not primarily caused by gross structural damage to the taste periphery.