Note on Tongue Taste Regions: Recent Research Debunks Traditional Map
In the past, many of us learned from textbooks that the tongue has specific regions for detecting different tastes, such as sweet, salty, sour, and bitter, with specific areas designated for each taste. This concept has been popularised by a well-known tongue diagram. However, recent scientific research challenges this traditional understanding.
The traditional tongue taste map has been featured in numerous textbooks, and its origin is often attributed to the work of German scientist David Pauli Hänig in 1901. Hänig conducted experiments by applying salty, sweet, sour, and bitter samples to different parts of people’s tongues, revealing variations in taste bud sensitivity across different areas. However, Hänig did not assert that these differences corresponded to specific tastes. The idea that different tastes map to distinct regions of the tongue appears to have emerged from interpretations of his data.
The influential psychologist Edwin Boring is believed to have played a role in popularising this concept. Boring’s studies in the early 20th century included experiments unrelated to taste, but he incorporated Hänig’s data into his work, leading to the creation of the tongue map we often see today.
Modern taste science, led by experts like Steven Munger from the University of Florida, has revealed a more nuanced understanding of taste perception. While different regions of the tongue can indeed detect sweet, sour, bitter, and salty tastes, the differences in sensitivity are considered to be “minute.” Taste buds are not isolated to specific regions but are distributed throughout the tongue, the roof of the mouth, and even the throat.
Moreover, recent research has uncovered that each taste bud contains a combination of receptor cells capable of detecting any of the five primary tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami. Each receptor cell is attuned to a specific taste and transmits signals to the brain via cranial nerves. Even if one of these nerves is temporarily anaesthetised, individuals can still perceive sweetness, contradicting the traditional tongue map, which places sweetness at the tip of the tongue.
In essence, while there are specialised receptor cells for each taste, they are not confined to specific regions of the tongue as previously believed. Rather, these receptor cells are distributed throughout the tongue, and our brain processes taste information based on the signals received from these cells.
This revised understanding of taste perception highlights the complexity of our sense of taste and challenges the simplicity of the traditional tongue taste map depicted in some textbooks.
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