THE SCIENCE OF “TASTE”

Eating is a multi-sensory Experience Senses involved in eating: hearing, vision, taste, smell, touch, proprioception “Taste” is a survival mechanism: way to test food or other substances (poison, rot) Why would this be important? Because I don’t want to die yet… Eating involves: - visual affect of food, - feel and sound of the food in our mouth - taste of the food (1/5 tastes) “Taste” is a survival mechanism – a way to test food or other substances before they enter the body. Why would this be important?

A sense of smell… Smell helps us detect: - Dangerous odors - Rotten food 95% of “taste” is actually our sense of smell The actual sense of taste happens only in the mouth 95%

Can’t you just taste it? What do these foods have in common?

A taste to survive…. Bitter and sour tastes – could mean poison The Princess Bride (1987) – Poison scene Sweet = high energy carbohydrates Salty = essential minerals Umami = mother’s milk, comfort, emotional needs Spicy = ??? (Google “The Science of Spicy Food) Spicy is not actually a taste. It does have survival mechanism though... Plants use it to ward off unwelcome predators. Birds, who don’t react to the spice, carry the seeds for propagation of the plant.

How it taste works The surface of the tongue is covered with ____________ Papillae contain _______ buds Taste buds contain taste _____________ cells TRC contain “taste ________” “taste hairs” react to 5 different tastes: The surface of the tongue is covered with papillae Papillae contain taste buds Taste buds contain taste receptor cells TRC contain “taste hairs” “taste hairs” react to 5 different tastes- sweet salty sour bitter umami

The brain The Thalamus, meaning “inner chamber”, relays info for senses and movement to the cerebral cortex, along with regulating consciousness (sleep, alert, unconscious). The Cerebral Cortex: memory, attention, perception, thought, language, consciouness. It is the “Grey Matter” of the brain, and is on the outside.

Summarize: (cells, tongue, nerve pathways, brain stem, thalamus, gustatory cortex) Cells send taste signals through nerve pathways up the brain stem to the thalamus and into the gustatory cortex (area responsible for perceiving taste) Chemicals from food dissolved in our saliva before they enter the taste pores

How smell works How come certain smells trigger attached memories? (olfactory receptors  olfactory bulb) How come certain smells trigger attached memories? Olfactory receptors detect scent molecules in the air and send signals to the olfactory bulb in the front of the brain. Olfactory bulb is enveloped by the emotional area of the brain making a very strong connection to scent and memory.

Sense of touch Sensing _______, _____________ & ___________ Signals are sent along the __________________ nerves responsible for sensations in the face. Sensing spice, temperature & texture Signals are sent along the trigeminal nerves responsible for sensations in the face.

Sense of touch Tri – _____________ Gemini - __________ Tri – three, Gemini (latin) – twins, two of the same atom, (think gemini constellation)

Put them all together and… The 3 distinct nerve pathways: __________, ___________, ___________meet in the ___________cortex where we perceive flavour. The 3 distinct nerve pathways: Taste (gustatory pathway – several nerves), smell (olfactory receptors) and touch (trigeminal nerve) meet in the prefrontal cortex where w perceive flavour.

Experience of flavour Flavour is a combination of smell, taste, texture, temperature Other factors that affect flavour are: spice, setting, your mood, emotional, past experiences with that particular food item, and your genetic sensitivity to tastes.

Science of Taste

Video link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HxAB54wlig