The tongue taste map is WRONG: Flavours are actually perceived by neurons in the brain, scientists reveal
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In school we're taught that our tongues have specific areas that are susceptible to different tastes: salty, bitter, sour, sweet or savoury.
But scientists say that is a myth, and they've found that each of the several thousand sensors on our tongue can recognise any of the tastes.
And is it is down to cells in the brain, not in the tongue, to work out which taste is which.
Scientists at Columbia University say neurons in the brain not cells in the tongue decide taste. They say our thousands of taste buds can all detect different flavours: bitter (top of diagram), sour (number two), salty (number three), sweet (bottom) and savoury
The research was carried out by scientists at Columbia University.
They studied the 8,000 or so taste buds that are scattered over our tongues, reports the BBC.
Each taste bud was found to be able to detect the five primary 'flavours'.
This counters the myth that, for example, only the tip of your tongue can taste sweet food.
Instead they found the brain has specialised neurons that would interpret a signal sent by each taste bud.
Each taste bud had up to 100 receptors that were used to send signals to the brain.
How exactly the brain processes this information is not clear, but the research shows that the decision on taste is made in the brain, not on the tongue.
And it puts to bed the theory that there is a 'tongue map' of different tastes, as once taught in primary schools.
The finding was made by feeding chemicals with specific tastes to mice.
Scientists then watched how specific neurons lit up when the mice ate the particular chemicals.
This made their 'taste neurons' fluoresce when activated.
'The cells were beautifully tuned to discrete individual taste qualities, so you have a very nice match between the nature of the cells in your tongue and the quality they represent [in the brain],' Professor Charles Zuker told the BBC.
The researchers say one of the benefits of the the findings could be the ability to return taste functions to those that have lost it, such as the elderly.
The findings put to bed the myth that our tongues have a taste map (stock image shown). 'The cells were beautifully tuned to discrete individual taste qualities, so you have a very nice match between the nature of the cells in your tongue and the quality they represent [in the brain],' Professor Charles Zuker told the BBC
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