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Thermal stimulation of taste

Nature volume 403, pages 889–892 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

The first electrophysiological recordings from animal1 and human2 taste nerves gave clear evidence of thermal sensitivity, and studies have shown that as many as half of the neurons in mammalian taste pathways respond to temperature3,4,5,6. Because temperature has never been shown to induce sensations of taste, it has been assumed that thermal stimulation in the gustatory system is somehow nulled6. Here we show that heating or cooling small areas of the tongue can in fact cause sensations of taste: warming the anterior edge of the tongue (chorda tympani nerve) from a cold temperature can evoke sweetness, whereas cooling can evoke sourness and/or saltiness. Thermal taste also occurs on the rear of the tongue (glossopharyngeal nerve), but the relationship between temperature and taste is different there than on the front of the tongue. These observations indicate the human gustatory system contains several different types of thermally sensitive neurons that normally contribute to the sensory code for taste.

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Figure 1: The perceived intensity of taste sensations reported during thermal stimulation of the midline of the tongue tip.
Figure 2: Temperature and thermal taste ratings as a function of temperature change at the tongue tip.
Figure 3: Perceived intensity of thermal taste (left column) and chemical taste (right column) on different sites on the tongue.
Figure 4: Thermal sweetness and warmth (a), and thermal sourness and cold (b) as a function of test site along the anterior edge of the tongue.
Figure 5: Thermal taste ratings from the circumvallate region of the tongue.

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Acknowledgements

We thank A. Hoffmann for collecting and analysing some of the data, and R. Rascati, F. Strumpf and M. Fritz for technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The John B. Pierce Laboratory and ,

    Alberto Cruz & Barry G. Green

  2. Department of Surgery (Otolaryngology), Yale School of Medicine, 290 Congress Avenue, New Haven , 06519, Connecticut, USA

    Barry G. Green

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  1. Alberto Cruz
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  2. Barry G. Green
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Correspondence to Barry G. Green.

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Cruz, A., Green, B. Thermal stimulation of taste. Nature 403, 889–892 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35002581

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