How do we enjoy different flavors?

FLAVOR PERCEPTION Olfactory FLAVOR We enjoy flavors of food by integrating responses from multiple sensory neurons: gustatory (taste), olfactory (smell) and somatosensory (touch) fibers. Psensory 1. Gustatory Taste receptors located in taste buds of the tongue, roof of the mouth, and throat sense sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory tastes in food. The afferents from these taste receptors carry the taste information to the gustatory cortex (the frontal operculum and the insula) after relaying it through the brainstem and the thalamus. Gustatory cortex Thalamus Olfactory bulb 2. Olfactory Smell provides the critical signal that defines the flavors we "taste." Olfactory receptors are located in the olfactory epithelium, deep within the nasal cavity. Odorants that arise from food inside the mouth enter the nasal Brainstem cavity and bind to olfactory receptors. This type of smelling is called retronasal olfaction, a phenomenon that gives flavors their identity. Ever wondered why food tastes so bland when you have a cold? Your blocked nose is unable to contribute to sensing the real flavor of food. 3. Somatosensory Taste receptors in the mouth are distributed unevenly, where some parts of the tongue have a higher density of taste receptors than others. However, when you perceive taste, you experience a "full mouth" flavor of the food. This occurs because of the tactile fibers on your tongue that are able to capture the food stimulus. Taste and tactile stimulation always co-occur, enabling taste sensation to travel with touch. Gustatony