Taste buds are located on different types of taste papillae found on the tongue, palate, pharynx, and larynx. Types of taste papillae include fungiform and foliate papillae on the anterior and lateral aspects, respectively, of the tongue and circumvallate papillae on the base of the tongue (see
Fig. 8.29C).
The circumvallate papillae may contain several hundred taste buds. The tongue in humans may have several thousand taste buds. The sensitivity of different regions of the tongue for different taste qualities varies slightly because taste buds responding to each type of taste are widely distributed. The taste buds are innervated by three cranial nerves. The chorda tympani branch of the facial nerve (CN VII) innervates taste buds on the anterior two thirds of the tongue, and the glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX) innervates taste buds on the posterior third of the tongue (see
Fig. 8.29C ). The vagus nerve (CN
X) innervates a few taste buds in the larynx and upper esophagus.
The cell bodies of taste fibers in cranial nerves VII, IX, and X are located in the geniculate, petrosal, and nodose ganglia, respectively. The central processes of the afferent fibers enter the medulla, join the solitary tract, and synapse in the nucleus of the solitary tract (see
Fig. 4.6
D to E). In some animals, including several rodent species, the second-order taste neurons of the solitary nucleus project rostrally to the ipsilateral parabrachial nucleus. The parabrachial nucleus then projects to the small-celled (parvocellular) part of the ventroposterior medial (VPMpc) nucleus of the thalamus. In monkeys, the solitary nucleus projects directly to the VPMpc nucleus. The VPMpc nucleus is connected to two different gustatory areas of the cerebral cortex: one in the face area of the S1 cortex and the other in the insula. An unusual feature of the central gustatory pathway is that it is predominantly an uncrossed pathway (unlike the central somatosensory pathways, which are predominantly crossed).
The sense of smell is much better developed in some animals (macrosmatic animals) than in humans. The ability of dogs to track other animals on the basis of odor is legendary, as is the use of pheromones by insects to attract mates. However, olfaction contributes to humans’ emotional life, and odors can effectively conjure up memories. It also helps
Release of • Fig. 8.29 A, A taste bud is shown with the taste pore at the top and its innervation below. B, basal cell; R, ciliated taste receptor cells; S, supporting cells. B, Taste receptor cell showing second messenger, ligand-gated, and direct depolarization resulting in depolarization of the cell.
• Fig. 8.29, cont’d C, Distribution of the taste buds on the tongue and their innervation. (Redrawn from Squire LR, et al [eds]. Fundamental Neuroscience. San Diego, CA: Academic Press; 2002.) people avoid consuming spoiled food and detect dangerous situations. For example, an unpleasant odorant is added to odorless, colorless natural gas so that people can easily detect a leak.
Odor has more primary qualities than taste does.