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Taste and smell phantoms revealed by brain functional MRI (fMRI).

PURPOSE: Our goal was to demonstrate the appearance of phantom tastes and smells (phantageusia and phantosmia, respectively) by use of functional MRI (fMRI) of the brain and to demonstrate the efficacy of drug treatment that inhibited both the subjective presence of these phantoms and the fMRI brain activation initiated by these phantoms. METHOD: Multislice FLASH MR or echo planar MR brain scans were obtained in two patients with phantageusia and phantosmia in response to memory of two tastants (salt and sweet); memory of two odors (banana and peppermint); actual smell of amyl acetate, menthone, and pyridine; and memory of phantom tastes and smells before and after treatment with thioridazine and haloperidol. Activation images were derived using correlation analysis, and ratios of brain area activated to total brain area were obtained. RESULTS: Prior to treatment, both patients experienced persistent birhinal and global oral obnoxious tastes and smells in the absence of any external stimulus. The fMRI response to memory of phantoms was activation in sensory-specific brain regions for taste and smell, respectively. fMRI activation was greater than for memory of any tastant or odorant or for actual smell of any odor. After treatment with thioridazine or haloperidol, which successfully inhibited each phantom in each patient, fMRI response to phantom memory was significantly inhibited and was significantly lower than for memory of any tastant or odorant or actual smell of any odorant. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that (a) phantom taste and smell can be revealed by fMRI brain activation, (b) brain activation in response to taste and smell phantoms is localized in sensory-specific brain regions for taste and smell, respectively, (c) brain activation in response to memory of each phantom initiated the greatest degree of activation we had previously measured, and (d) treatment with thioridazine or haloperidol inhibited both the presence of each phantom and its associated fMRI brain activation. This is the first study in which phantom tastes and smells have been demonstrated by an objective technique and treatment that inhibited the phantoms was characterized by objective inhibition of fMRI activation. These two patients represent a relatively common group that may be classified as having primary phantageusia and phantosmia distinct from those with phantoms or auras secondary to neurological, migrainous, psychiatric, or other causes.

Brain Mapping↗

PubMed1996

Randomized, double blind comparison of brand and generic antibiotic suspensions: II. A study of taste and compliance in children.

BACKGROUND: The taste of oral liquid medications influences compliance in children. Generic preparations are prescribed to reduce cost and may taste worse than brand name products. METHODS: This was a prospective, randomized, double blind, crossover trial of the differences in taste and compliance between brand and generic antibiotic suspensions in children 3 to 14 years of age. Verbal and visual assessment methods were used to assess taste, and compliance was measured by the amount of drug returned after use. RESULTS: Ten children in each of the cephalexin and erythromycin-sulfisoxazole groups did not report that the brand and generic formulations tasted differently. Fifteen children thought that brand trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole tasted better than the generic preparation. CONCLUSIONS: Brand name oral liquid antibiotics do not necessarily taste better than their generic counterparts. Despite preference for the taste of brand trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, all of the children in this study were compliant with both brand and generic medications.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Taste reactivity in alcohol preferring and nonpreferring rats.

Taste reactivity tests were used to examine the orofacial responses of alcohol preferring (P) rats and alcohol nonpreferring (NP) rats to the taste of alcohol. In the initial exposure, naive rats were tested for reactivity to five concentrations of alcohol (5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% v/v), water, and one solution each of sucrose and quinine. A two-bottle consumption test was then given for a 3-week period to allow the rats access to 10% alcohol. After the preference test, a second taste reactivity test was done using the same solutions as in the initial reactivity test. The results indicated no significant differences in taste reactivity between P rats and NP rats on the initial exposure, except that NP rats made significantly more mouth movements. During the two-bottle tests, consumption of alcohol by P rats was consistently higher than that of NP rats across all test days. On the second taste reactivity test, P rats showed an increase in the number of ingestive responses and a decrease in the number of aversive responses to alcohol. NP rats' taste reactivity to alcohol remained unchanged from Exposure 1 to Exposure 2. P rats' and NP rats' responses to sucrose and quinine did not change from Exposure 1 to Exposure 2. It was concluded that there were no innate taste response differences between P and NP rats to alcohol but that following alcohol experience, P rats showed a significant increase in ingestive responses and a concomitant decrease in aversive responses to the taste of alcohol.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed1992

Ambient temperature effects on taste aversion conditioned by ethanol: contribution of ethanol-induced hypothermia.

Six experiments examined the effects of low (5-10 degrees C), normal (21 degrees C), or high (32 degrees) ambient temperature on conditioned taste aversion and body temperature changes produced by ethanol, lithium chloride, or morphine sulfate. Fluid-deprived rats received five to seven taste conditioning trials at 48-hr intervals. On each trial, access to saccharin at normal ambient temperature was followed by injection of drug or saline and placement for 6 hr into a temperature-controlled enclosure. Exposure to low ambient temperature facilitated, whereas exposure to high ambient temperature retarded acquisition of ethanol-induced conditioned taste aversion. The ability of an alteration in ambient temperature to influence conditioned taste aversion varied as a function of ethanol dose and was related to ambient temperature's effect on ethanol-induced hypothermia. More specifically, strength of conditioned taste aversion was negatively correlated with core body temperature after ethanol injection. Alterations in ambient temperature alone did not affect ingestion of a paired flavor solution in the absence of drug. Moreover, alterations in ambient temperature did not appear to influence conditioned taste aversion by changing ethanol pharmacokinetics. Finally, high and low ambient temperature did not affect development of taste aversion conditioned by lithium chloride or morphine sulfate. The overall pattern of data presented by these experiments supports the hypothesis that ambient-temperature influences strength of ethanol-induced conditioned taste aversion by altering the hypothermic response to ethanol. More generally, these data support the suggestion that body temperature change induced by ethanol is related to ethanol's aversive motivational effects and may be involved in modulating ethanol intake.

Animals↗

PubMed1979

Location and variation in number of taste buds in human fungiform papillae.

Serial sections of 182 fungiform papillae, obtained at autopsy from 22 individuals aged 2 days to 90 years, were examined by light microscopy with regard to location and number of taste buds. The taste buds were always found on the convex, dorsal surface of the papillae but otherwise failed to display any preferential location pattern. A total of 262 taste buds, an average of 1.4 per papilla, were found. However, there was considerable variation in the occurrence of taste buds, both from papilla to papilla and from case to case. While the number of taste buds in a single papilla varied from 0 to 27, 63% of the papillae had no taste buds at all, 26% had 1-3 buds and the remainder 4 or more buds. The mean number of taste buds per papilla varied from 0 to 9 between individuals; no dependence upon sex or age could be demonstrated for this variation. The significance of these anatomical findings with regard to physiological studies on taste involving the fungiform papillae is discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1988

Strain differences in taste reactivity to NaCl.

The taste reactivity test was used to determine whether strain differences in response to NaCl revealed by preference tests were attributable to taste or postoral factors. Taste reactivity data revealed significant differences between sodium-replete Fischer 344 (F-344) and Wistar strains in response to NaCl for both aversive and ingestive oral motor behaviors. Because the taste reactivity test analyzed the immediate response to orally applied chemical stimuli, these data support a strain difference based on taste factors. Taste reactivity data also indicate strain differences in ingestive but not aversive scores to other normally ingested chemical stimuli, water, and two sucrose concentrations. In response to normally avoided quinine, F-344 and Wistar strains did not differ in either ingestive or aversive score. To investigate whether strain differences revealed when rats were tested while sodium replete would persist in the sodium-deficient state, both strains were treated with the diuretic furosemide. Taste reactivity tests revealed that in response to sodium deficiency both F-344 and Wistar strains shift their oral motor response profile to NaCl; strains did not differ in either ingestive or aversive score when sodium deficient. NaCl intake and preference measures also support the fact that both strains demonstrate a sodium appetite. Interpretive limitations based on ceiling and floor effects within taste reactivity and preference data were discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Experience-dependent neural integration of taste and smell in the human brain.

Flavor perception arises from the central integration of peripherally distinct sensory inputs (taste, smell, texture, temperature, sight, and even sound of foods). The results from psychophysical and neuroimaging studies in humans are converging with electrophysiological findings in animals and a picture of the neural correlates of flavor processing is beginning to emerge. Here we used event-related fMRI to evaluate brain response during perception of flavors (i.e., taste/odor liquid mixtures not differing in temperature or texture) compared with the sum of the independent presentation of their constituents (taste and/or odor). All stimuli were presented in liquid form so that olfactory stimulation was by the retronasal route. Mode of olfactory delivery is important because neural suppression has been observed in chemosensory regions during congruent taste-odor pairs when the odors are delivered by the orthonasal route and require subjects to sniff. There were 2 flavors. One contained a familiar/congruent taste-odor pair (vanilla/sweet) and the other an unfamiliar/incongruent taste-odor pair (vanilla/salty). Three unimodal stimuli, including 2 tastes (sweet and salty) and one odor (vanilla), as well as a tasteless/odorless liquid (baseline) were presented. Superadditive responses during the perception of the congruent flavor compared with the sum of its constituents were observed in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), dorsal insula, anterior ventral insula extending into the caudal orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), frontal operculum, ventral lateral prefrontal cortex, and posterior parietal cortex. These regions were not present in a similar analysis of the incongruent flavor compared with the sum of its constituents. All of these regions except the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex were also isolated in a direct contrast of congruent - incongruent. Additionally, the anterior cingulate, posterior parietal cortex, frontal operculum, and ventral insula/caudal OFC were also more active in vanilla + salty minus incongruent, suggesting that delivery of an unfamiliar taste-odor combination may lead to suppressed neural responses. Taken together with previous findings in the literature, these results suggest that the insula, OFC, and ACC are key components of the network underlying flavor perception and that taste-smell integration within these and other regions is dependent on 1) mode of olfactory delivery and 2) previous experience with taste/smell combinations.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Physiological evidence for ionotropic and metabotropic glutamate receptors in rat taste cells.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) elicits a unique taste in humans called umami. Recent molecular studies suggest that glutamate receptors similar to those in brain are present in taste cells, but their precise role in taste transduction remains to be elucidated. We used giga-seal whole cell recording to examine the effects of MSG and glutamate receptor agonists on membrane properties of taste cells from rat fungiform papillae. MSG (1 mM) induced three subsets of responses in cells voltage-clamped at -80 mV: a decrease in holding current (subset I), an increase in holding current (subset II), and a biphasic response consisting of an increase, followed by a decrease in holding current (subset III). Most subset II glutamate responses were mimicked by the ionotropic glutamate receptor (iGluR) agonist N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA). The current was potentiated by glycine and was suppressed by the NMDA receptor antagonist D(-)-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (AP5). The group III metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) agonist L-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid (L-AP4) usually mimicked the subset I glutamate response. This hyperpolarizing response was suppressed by the mGluR antagonist (RS)-alpha-cyclopropyl-4-phosphonophenylglycine (CPPG) and by 8-bromo-cAMP, suggesting a role for cAMP in the transduction pathway. In a small subset of taste cells, L-AP4 elicited an increase in holding current, resulting in taste cell depolarization under current clamp. Taken together, our results suggest that NMDA-like receptors and at least two types of group III mGluRs are present in taste receptor cells, and these may be coactivated by MSG. Further studies are required to determine which receptors are located on the apical membrane and how they contribute to the umami taste.

2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate↗

PubMed1976

Comparative ultrastructure of vallate, foliate and fungiform taste buds of golden Syrian hamster.

A fine-structure study of the hamster fungiform, foliate and vallate taste buds was undertaken for comparative purposes. All three taste bud types shared in common composition of the dark cells, light cells, basal cells, nerve fibers and nerve endings and undifferentiated peripheral cells, but morphological difference existed among them. The foliate and vallate taste buds were quite similar in their ultrastructural morphology. Their dark cells displayed long apical necks, long apical microvilli, apical osmiophilic secretory granules and an abundant rough endoplasmic reticulum. The dark cells of the fungiform taste buds, however, showed no neck formation and lacked apical osmiophilic granules. They had short apical microvilli and relatively scant rough endoplasmic reticulum. There was no difference in the fine structure features of the light cells, basal cells and neural elements of different types of taste buds. Both light and dark cells were much more readily distinguishable in foliate and vallate buds than in fungiform buds at both light-and electron-microscopic levels. Foliate and vallate buds demonstrated homogeneous dense substance within the taste pores while fungiform pores were frequently empty. It is speculated that the differences in taste bud morphology may be due to their different lingual locations and/or may be a reflection of the differences in the inductive influences from different nerves. Furthermore, structural differences may be responsible for varying thresholds to different taste modalities.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Preparation and evaluation of tablets rapidly disintegrating in saliva containing bitter-taste-masked granules by the compression method.

The aim of this study was to prepare, using taste-masked granules, tablets which can rapidly disintegrate in saliva (rapidly disintegrating tablet), of drugs with bitter taste (pirenzepine HCl or oxybutynin HCl). The taste-masked granules were prepared using aminoalkyl methacrylate copolymers (Eudragit E-100) by the extrusion method. None of the drugs dissolved from the granules (% of dissolved, < 5%) even at 480 min at pH 6.8 in the dissolution test. However, the drugs dissolved rapidly in the medium at pH 1.2 in the dissolution test. Rapidly disintegrating tablets were prepared using the prepared taste-masked granules, and a mixture of excipients consisting of crystalline cellulose (Avicel PH-102) and low-substituted hydroxypropylcellulose (L-HPC, LH-11). The granules and excipients were mixed well (mixing ratio by weight, crystalline cellulose: L-HPC = 8:2) with 1% magnesium stearate, and subsequently compressed at 500-1500 kgf in a single-punch tableting machine. The prepared tablets (compressed at 500 kgf) containing the taste-masked granules have sufficient strength (the crushing strength: oxybutynin tablet, 3.5 kg; pirenzepine tablet, 2.2 kg), and a rapid disintegration time (within 20 s) was observed in the saliva of healthy volunteers. None of the volunteers felt any bitter taste after the disintegration of the tablet which contained the taste-masked granules. We confirmed that the rapidly disintegrating tablets can be prepared using these taste-masked granules and excipients which are commonly used in tablet preparation.

Cholinergic Antagonists↗

PubMed2004

Quantitative taste evaluation of total enteral nutrients.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate quantitatively the taste of the various total enteral nutrients marketed in Japan using human gustatory sensation tests and an artificial taste sensor. In the human gustatory sensation test, four basic taste intensities (sweetness, saltiness, sourness, and bitterness), as well as 15 kinds of palatability scales, were evaluated according to the semantic differential (SD) method. Among 15 palatability items, the item; difficult to drink/easy to drink, was adopted as an overall palatability since it shows the highest factor loading by factor analysis. The overall palatability was found to be highly positively correlated with sweetness and sourness, but negatively correlated with bitterness and saltiness. Addition of a flavour to the amino acid-based enteral nutrient AminolebanEN significantly improved its palatability. This effect is presumably due to sour components of the flavour, such as citric acid, which reduce the bitterness intensity of branched-chain amino acids in the product. The sweetness and sourness intensities predicted by the taste sensor showed a high correlation with the results obtained in the human gustatory sensation tests. The taste sensor was able to predict the overall palatability of the total enteral nutrients with high accuracy. The products could be classified into three groups (peptide-based, amino-acid-based, and protein-based) by principal component analysis using sensor output of 8 channels. The products could be also classified into four groups; peptide-based, amino-acid-based, and protein-based and flavor addition group by principal component analysis using sensor output of channels 1, 3, 4 and 7, which are specific to basic tastes. The taste sensor could therefore be useful in predicting the taste or palatability of total enteral nutrients, and could contribute to attempts to improve compliance for such products and for enteral nutrients.

Biosensing Techniques↗

PubMed2006

Temporal coding mediates discrimination of "bitter" taste stimuli by an insect.

The mechanisms that mediate discriminative taste processing in insects are poorly understood. We asked whether temporal patterns of discharge from the peripheral taste system of an insect (Manduca sexta caterpillars; Sphingidae) contribute to the discrimination of three "bitter" taste stimuli: salicin, caffeine, and aristolochic acid. The gustatory response to these stimuli is mediated exclusively by three pairs of bitter-sensitive taste cell, which are located in the medial, lateral, and epipharyngeal sensilla. We tested for discrimination by habituating the caterpillars to salicin and then determining whether the habituation generalized to caffeine or aristolochic acid. We ran habituation-generalization tests in caterpillars with their full complement of taste sensilla (i.e., intact) and in caterpillars with ablated lateral sensilla (i.e., lat-ablated). The latter perturbation enabled us to examine discrimination in caterpillars with a modified peripheral taste profile. We found that the intact and lat-ablated caterpillars both generalized the salicin-habituation to caffeine but not aristolochic acid. Next, we determined whether this pattern of stimulus-generalization could be explained by salicin and aristolochic acid generating distinct ensemble, rate, temporal, or spatiotemporal codes. To this end, we recorded excitatory responses from the bitter-sensitive taste cells and then used these responses to formulate predictions about whether the salicin-habituation should generalize to caffeine or aristolochic acid, separately for each coding framework. We found that the pattern of stimulus generalization in both intact and lat-ablated caterpillars could only be predicted by temporal coding. We conclude that temporal codes from the periphery can mediate discriminative taste processing.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

Immunocytochemistry of neuron-specific proteins and neuropeptides in taste buds and associated nerves.

The taste buds and associated nerves in the guinea pig, rat, cat, and mouse were investigated by immunocytochemistry and formaldehyde-induced fluorescence histochemistry. The antisera used were against spot 35 protein, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), neurofilament protein (NFP), and substance P. The spot 35 protein immunoreactivity was confined to taste bud cells in the guinea pig and rat; the immunoreactive cells, slender in shape, comprised half the number of the total taste bud cells in the guinea pig but were fewer in the rat. For NSE, on the other hand, taste bud cells as well as neural elements localized in both the taste bud and the subepithelial connective tissue were immunoreactive in all the species investigated. Furthermore, all of the spot 35 protein-immunoreactive cells proved to be NSE-immunoreactive in the guinea pig and rat. For NFP, neither the bud cells nor the nerves in the taste bud were reactive, whereas a part of nerves in the connective tissue was immunostained in all the species. The antiserum against substance P exclusively detected some parts of nerves in and out of the taste buds in the cat, rat, and mouse. The aminergic innervation was rather meager and appeared in the nerve fibers localized in the taste buds and connective tissue of the cat and mouse.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Fine structure of the taste bud in guinea pigs. I. Cell characterization and innervation patterns.

Guinea pig taste buds were observed by transmission electron microscopy with special reference to cell types and innervation. The taste bud comprised four distinct cell types: basal, type I, type II, and type III cells. Basal cells, residing at the baso-lateral region of the taste bud without extending to the taste pore, were considered precursors of the other types of cells. The rest were all spindle-shaped cells reaching apically to the taste pit. Type I cells were characterized by the darkest appearance of the cytoplasm, apically possessing large, electron-dense granules and basally enveloping intragemmal nerves. This cell type, intervening between the other types of cells, was postulated to be sustentacular in nature. Type II cells, the largest and lightest cells in the taste bud, possessed a conspicuous stack of smooth endoplasmic reticulum above the nucleus. Due to their intimate and specialized relationships with nerves, the type II cells were presumed to receive an efferent innervation. Type III cells made synaptic contacts with nerves and contained dense-cored vesicles, which accumulated in the synaptic areas. This finding strongly suggests a gustatory function for the cells. The occurrence of such numerous peptidergic-type granules gathering to gustatory synapses as demonstrated in this report has not been recorded in previous papers on mammalian taste buds. The nerve terminals on the type III cell also contained synaptic vesicles, thus suggesting a reciprocal synapse here. The taste bud often included degenerating cells which were demonstrated to be phagocytosed by extrinsic cells identified as macrophages.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Immunohistochemical studies on protein gene product 9.5, serotonin and neuropeptides in vallate taste buds and related nerves of the guinea pig.

The occurrence, distribution and innervation of guinea pig vallate papillae were investigated by means of indirect immunofluorescence and immunoperoxidase methods using antibodies against: a neuron-specific protein, protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5); various neuropeptides including calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), substance P (SP), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and galanin; a monoamine, serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5HT). Numerous PGP 9.5-immunoreactive nerve fibers were found to form plexuses in the lingual epithelium both intragemmally and extragemmally and to comprise dense bundles in the lamina propria just beneath the epithelium. Moderate numbers of PGP 9.5-immunoreactive cells were observed in the taste buds. These cells, typically spindle in shape, extended through the entire thickness of the taste bud. CGRP-immunoreactive nerve fibers were numerous in the subgemmal connective tissue and entered the epithelium to form intragemmal and extragemmal networks. A dense subgemmal SP-immunoreactive network in the vallate papilla can be linked to the presence of taste buds, even though SP-immunoreactive nerve fibers rarely occurred intragemmally. No taste cells immunoreactive for CGRP and for SP were observed. Immunoreactivity for VIP or galanin was not detected in nerve fibers and taste cells. In contrast, some taste cells and a few, fine networks of nerve fibers in the connective tissue were immunoreactive for 5HT; none of the intraepithelial fibers were 5HT-immunoreactive. We suggest that: 1) functionally, 5HT-containing cells and the CGRP-containing nerve fibers may be primarily involved in the neural transmission or its modulation of the taste sensation; and 2) VIP and galanin can be excluded from that group of substances which plays important roles in taste sensation.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

The innervation of taste buds in the soft palate of the rat as revealed by methylene blue staining.

Light microscopic data on the innervation of taste buds in the soft palate of the rat obtained by methylene blue (MB) supravital staining are presented here for the first time. The taste pore including subpopulations of taste bud cells and nerve fibers were stained. Intragemmal nerve fibers were detected ascending up to the taste pore; this suggests the possibility of additional paracellular pathways in taste transduction directly via nerve fibers. Moreover, relatively large bulbous or laminar enlargements of the intragemmal nerve fibers were found. The branches of these nerve fibers, showing minute spiny protuberances, appeared to anastomose. Some perigemmal nerve fibers were also seen in close apposition to the taste pore. The basal plexus in the vicinity of the taste buds showed enlargements which resembled the Merkel's discs, but were significantly smaller. These structures did not occur in the subgemmal part of the basal plexus. Regarding the oxygen-dependency of the staining reaction, it was speculated that both MB and oxygen were attracted by iron-containing enzymes. Therefore, the strong affinities for MB shown by subpopulations of nerve fibers and taste bud cells were explained by their high requirements for oxygen. Furthermore due to its selectivity for intraepithelial nerve fibers and sensory cells, the method applied here is well-suited for routine use in light microscopy.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Taste buds and nerve fibers in the rat larynx: an ultrastructural and immunohistochemical study.

We investigated the rat laryngeal taste buds and their innervation by electron microscopy and immunohistochemical methods. Taste buds were densely arranged in the surface facing the laryngeal cavity of the epiglottis, the aryepiglottic fold, and the cuneiform process of the arytenoid cartilages. The cells of the buds were classified into types I, II, III, and basal cells, the ultrastucture of which was almost the same as that previously reported in lingual taste buds. The type III cells that had synaptic contacts with nerve fibers were considered to be sensory cells. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed thick calbindin D28k-immunoreactive fibers and thin varicose fibers immunoreactive for calcitonin gene-related peptide or substance P in and around the taste bud. Serotonin-immunoreactive cells were also observed here. The results revealed the innervation pattern of laryngeal taste buds to be the same as that in lingual taste buds. Carbonic anhydrase (CA) is known to catalyze the hydration of CO2 and dehydration of H2CO3, and seems to be essential in CO2 reception. Immunoreactivity for CAI was detected in slender cells and that for CAIII was observed in barrel-like cells in the laryngeal taste buds. The pH-sensitive inward rectifier K+ (Kir) channel in the cell membrane may be involved in CO2 reception as well. CAII-reactive cells were also reactive to Kir4.1, PGP 9.5 and serotonin. Our results indicated that CAII and Kir4.1 are located in type III cells of the laryngeal taste buds, and supported the idea that the buds may be involved in the recognition of CO2.

Animals↗

PubMed1979

The occurrence of taste buds in the palate of human adults as evidenced by light microscopy.

There is some uncertainty in the literature as to the existence of taste buds in the palate of the human adult. In those histologic studies in which the ages of the individuals have been reported, taste buds have not been found in the palates of adults, but have been found in fetuses or newborn. However, clinical studies have demonstrated taste perception in the palate of the human adult. Thus, the aim of the present study was to attempt to find taste buds in the human palate in subjects of different ages. In serial sections of selected areas of the palatal mucosa from autopsy material from individuals 0--80 years of age no taste buds could be demonstrated. However, in four of seven subjects aged 25--44 years, one or two taste buds were found in biopsies from areas of the soft palate where taste perception had been demonstrated clinically just prior to excision. Thus the present study indicates that scattered taste buds exist also in the soft palate of human adults.

Adolescent↗