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The Complexity And Effects Of Smell On The Science Of Taste

Satisfactory Essays

The Complexity and Effects of Smell on the Science of Taste
Taste is the chemical sensation produced when an ingredient or substance counters the taste receptor cells located in the oral cavity. This act of drinking and eating allows a mammal to experience pleasing flavors, and avoid those with toxic and poisonous features that hint danger. Because of this fact, most of the researchers have been merely dedicated on finding the locations of taste receptors and their correspondence to the flavors rather than exploring other possibilities and senses. One in particular should be the olfactory system, which has been extremely correlated with taste throughout the evolution of all animals. Thirty-five years later, and Dr. Rozin’s question still …show more content…

Besides olfactory system, other examples that support this thesis exist in other areas of animal senses such as haptics, temperature, and illnesses. The results supported the idea that people cannot accurately recognize common tastes such as apple, potatoes, and onions. However, the most significant results of the study were that the tastes that could be easily distinguished by smelling were assumed to share the same flavors (MUST CITE). These findings suggest that when smell is unavailable, your brains ability to taste certain foods is limited. With Erikson’s past experiments, the stimulation of taste buds is located in certain parts of the mouth, and this theory is still fairly recognizable to most people today. However, Mojet’s research proved that there are olfactory stimuli delivered to olfactory receptors by retro a nasal rout that supports the hypothesis mentioned above (2005). When food reaches the oral cavity, the visible bumps in the tongue are papilla. Inside of them, rest single celled taste buds that contain further extensions called microvilli. Similar to the taste receptors, the smell nerves have chemical receptors that are located in a patch of cells in the olfactory tract located at the top of nasal cavity. About 80% of the time, these neurons are able to detect thousands of odors and chemicals that are able to enhance the taste sense. Considering the close relationship of taste and smell, it is unclear if both olfactory receptors and taste buds

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