A Question of Taste--Or Is It Smell? Sometimes when we talk
about taste, we're really talking about smell. Much of our
experience of the "taste" of food is what we smell of the food
in our mouths, experts say. Our taste buds are important, but
smell seems to play a bigger role. Most people who complain of
loss of the sense of taste are surprised to learn they are
actually having problems with their sense of smell. A more
accurate word for the sense of taste, experts say, might be the
sense of flavor. Airborne molecules that reach the nose
stimulate olfactory cells. Food in the mouth or throat
stimulates gustatory (taste) nerve cells. Both types of nerve
cells send messages to the brain. The brain assesses the
information on smell and taste to identify the source. If part
of the tongue or the cranial nerve connected to a part of the
tongue is damaged, the other portions of the tongue will take
over the function of that damaged portion. Flavors, such as
salty, bitter, sweet and sour, can be recognized by the br