Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I did an expiriment from this site about meausuring your taste threshold. I did my basic research on tatse buds but now I need to research the relationship of the brain and the taste buds/receptors. Where do they travel and what part of the brain receives the message of the taste? What other things is this part of the brain used for?

Also can you tell me the connection with the nose and the brain?

Hi there,

That's an interesting set of questions. To help you, I used a Google search (using the words "taste buds brain") and found lots of great sites that I think answer your questions. Like this one:

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/tasty.html

This one might be a bit more difficult to read:
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/04/scien ... all&src=pm

Please check these out and let me know if you need more help on these questions!

Good luck with your research

Tonya

Thankyou that was a great help. Is there anything you know about the relationship between the nose and the taste buds?
Amerine

Hi Amerine,

I don't know much about that from experience. I learned alot reading through the pages I linked (and others). Did you have a specific question I can help you with?

Tonya

NO it's just that the research I did was a bit complicated so I wanted to know if there was a simple way of explaining it

Hi,

Finding a simple way to explain complicated data is a common challenge in science. We can help if you need it, but of course you would have to show us the data and the questions you were trying to ask. Or if you want to give it a good try first and then post your charts, we can look.

Good luck! It's so exciting to have data to share

Tonya

Hi there,

Here is some information regarding my understanding about the relationship between your nose and your taste buds. While your nose cannot technically "taste," your sense of smell does contribute to your ability to taste. That said, it is possible to taste without being able to smell. I knew someone who was born without the ability to smell, and she was able to taste her foods just fine.

Your sense of smell and your sense of taste are related. Both senses involve chemoreceptors, which are little sensors that detect chemicals (usually organic molecules). The primary difference between smelling and tasting is that smelling detects chemicals in the air, whereas tasting detects the chemicals you put in your mouth. Because airborne chemicals often arrive at your nose far away from their source, your sense of smell is pretty sensitive and can detect chemicals in small amounts. Since you put food into your mouth, your taste buds do not have to work hard to detect the chemicals there. When you eat, some of the organic molecules from the food are vaporized (put into the air), and you can smell them; that is how your sense of smell enhances your sense of taste.

I hope that helps. Let us know if you have more questions.

Heather

There's some great facts above, but I just thought that I should add this. We just did this in my psychology class.

The only connection between the taste buds and the olfactory cells (smelling cells) is through the brain. There are on 5 things you can taste (bitter, sweet, sour, spicy, and umami (protien)). So, if you plug your nose and close your eyes, you shouldn't be able to recognize what you're eating by the taste (you normally can feel the texture).

This is a great site to visit to learn more: http://www.senseofsmell.org/

Oh, and also, your sense of smell is connected to memories too.

The pathway of smelling

in through the nasal vestibule (nose hole) -> into the nasal cavity -> up to the olfactory sensory cells ->up to the olfactory bulb -> to the brain!





I hope I helped. If you want me to go more in-depth, I can, but I didn't want to give the whole project to you.