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Although tastes are not relegated to different regions on the tongue, it is important to note that there are slight differences between the major taste sensations. "The chemicals that produce salty and sour tastes act directly through ion channels, whereas those responsible for sweet and bitter tastes bind to surface receptors that trigger a bucket brigade of signals to the cells' interiors that ultimately results in the opening and closing of ion channels" (Smith & Margolskee 2001, p.2). At least one of the receptors for salty substances "is an ion channel that allows sodium ions (Na+) to enter directly into the cell" (Kimball 2009). The hormone aldosterone is thought to increase the number of salt receptors to better enable humans to maintain a normal sodium level in the body. Sour ion channels are liberated by the release of acids into the taste cell (Kimball 2009).
Sweet substances bind to G-protein-coupled receptors in the cell and the hormone leptin inhibits sweet cells by opening their K+ channel (Kimball 2009). Leptin thus could be a way for the body to signal 'enough' for a sweet sensation, and leptin abnormalities have been linked to some manifestations of obesity. "Humans have genes encoding 25 different bitter receptors," although every single taste cell seems to respond to certain bitter-tasting molecules in...
Finally, some researchers have called umami, the response to glutamic acid -- like processed foods monosodium glutamate (MSG) to be a 'fifth' taste. Like sweet and bitter flavors, this response is linked to G-protein-coupled receptors.
Every individual's taste is unique. However, some generalizations can be made in terms of the evolution of taste over the lifespan. Children tend to be more averse to strong flavors. Babies have taste buds on the sides and roof of their mouths and are thus hyper-sensitive to tastes. As people age, these taste buds begin to disappear, which is why adults can tolerate strong cheeses and coffee and other bitter flavors unpalatable to them when they were young (Your sense of taste, Think Quest, 2009).
Work Cited
Kimball, J. "The sense of taste.' Biology Pages. Updated November 1, 2009.
November 3, 2009. http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/T/Taste.html
Smith, David V. & Robert F. Margolskee. Making sense of taste. Scientific American. March 2001. November 3, 2009.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=making-sense-of-taste
"Your sense of taste." Think Quest. November 3, 2009.
http://library.thinkquest.org/3750/taste/taste.html
Work Cited
Kimball, J. "The sense of taste.' Biology Pages. Updated November 1, 2009.
November 3, 2009. http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/T/Taste.html
Smith, David V. & Robert F. Margolskee. Making sense of taste. Scientific American. March 2001. November 3, 2009.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=making-sense-of-taste
http://library.thinkquest.org/3750/taste/taste.html
Elaine Brown, a Taste of Power Elaine Brown's autobiography A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story provides a snapshot of life in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Brown briefly rose to the leadership of the Black Panther Party. In North Philadelphia born and raised, Brown dropped out of Temple University and traveled west seeking a musical career in Hollywood, much like another noteworthy figure from this period obsessed
Taste and Smell Age Related Changes in Perception of Flavor and Aroma It has been posited that the perception of flavor and aroma are derived from the senses of chemical irritation, taste and smell (Rawson, 2003). Together, these senses constitute what has been termed chemosensation, although these sensory systems are purportedly considerably variant in their physiology and anatomy. Nevertheless, they do have the ability to regenerate, and their noted susceptibility to aging and
In the same way, if one were to intentionally color the inside of a piece of apple a dark brown color, a color that is generally associated with rotten apples, then one would not taste it. In essence, this means that at times, one sense would effectively overwhelm the others, so that eventually, this sense would overtake the others. (Fields, 2004) In this particular case of the brown apple, the
Similarly, the sense of sight would allow us to see animals that we were hunting, giving us a great advantage. The human sense of sight is somewhat unique in the animal kingdom. As humans, we have effective full-color central vision that allows us to accurately perceive information in our immediate environment (Vision1to1). While sense of sight maybe our most important sense when looked at in isolation, human perception is best when
Data Analysis 1. The taster determined 11 of the 14 samples correctly. Three samples were incorrectly identified. Thus, the taster received a statistical score of 88%. 2. The results failed to support the null hypothesis. There was obviously a difference between the organic and conventional food items. 3. This output indicates that while there is a difference, the margin of 10% is too small. 4. The test indicated that for greater than 50% of
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