Instructor’s Manual
by Evan M. Palmer
to accompany
Sensation & Perception, Sixth Edition
Wolfe • Kluender • Levi • Bartoshuk • Herz • Klatzky • Merfeld
Chapter 15: Taste
Chapter Introduction
Taste, the subject of this chapter, is often confused with flavor, the overall sensory
experience conveyed when we eat. In fact, smell (in the form of retronasal olfaction) is a
greater determinant of flavor than is taste. Receptors on taste buds located on papillae of
the tongue and roof of the mouth code for four basic tastes, each of which appears to have
a specific survival value: bitter and sour help us to avoid foods that might be harmful to
us (poisons and acids, respectively), while sweet and salty help us to ingest foods with
necessary nutritional components (calorie-rich sugars and sodium, which are necessary
for neural and muscular functioning). Unlike olfaction, taste qualities are coded by
“labeled lines” from the tongue to the brain, allowing us to easily analyze food tastes into
their four components. Genetic differences separate people into nontasters, “regular”
tasters, and supertasters. Supertasters perceive the tastes of bitter foods to be much more
intense than nontasters do; these perceptual differences have major effects on diet, which
in turn have major health implications. Some people like the burn of capsaicin in chili
peppers, but we are not born liking this burn. People acquire a preference for chili
peppers through exposure, and this can be heavily influenced by the culture in which they
are raised.
Chapter Outline
15.1 Taste versus Flavor
Localizing Flavor Sensations: The Role of Taste
SENSATION & PERCEPTION IN EVERYDAY LIFE : Volatile-Enhanced Taste: A New
Way to Sweeten Foods
15.2 Anatomy and Physiology of the Gustatory System
Taste Myth: The Tongue Map
Taste Buds and Taste Receptor Cells
Non-Oral Locations for Taste Receptors
Taste Processing in the Central Nervous System
15.3 The Four Basic Tastes?
Salty
© Oxford University Press
, Sour
Bitter
Sweet
15.4 Are There More Than Four Basic Tastes? Does It Matter?
Protein: The Umami Question
Fat
15.5 Genetic Variation in Bitter
Supertasters
Health Consequences of Variation in Taste Sensations
15.6 How Do Taste and Flavor Contribute to the Regulation of Nutrients?
SCIENTISTS AT WORK: The Role of Food Preferences in Food Choices
Taste
Flavor
Is All Olfactory Affect Learned?
15.7 The Nature of Taste Qualities
Taste Adaptation and Cross-Adaptation
The Pleasure of the Burn of Chili Peppers
Chapter Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this chapter, students will be able to:
15.1 Taste versus Flavor
15.1.1 Describe the difference between taste and flavor.
15.1.2 Describe the contributions of retronasal olfaction to flavor.
15.1.3 Explain the chorda tympani’s role in taste perception.
15.2 Anatomy and Physiology of the Gustatory System
15.2.1 List the four different types of papillae and describe their functioning.
15.2.2 Explain why the tongue map is a myth.
15.2.3 Describe the physiological parts of the gustatory system from tongue to
cortex, including their functions.
15.3 The Four Basic Tastes?
15.3.1 List the four basic tastes.
15.3.2 Describe the survival value of salty.
15.3.3 Describe the survival value of sour.
© Oxford University Press
by Evan M. Palmer
to accompany
Sensation & Perception, Sixth Edition
Wolfe • Kluender • Levi • Bartoshuk • Herz • Klatzky • Merfeld
Chapter 15: Taste
Chapter Introduction
Taste, the subject of this chapter, is often confused with flavor, the overall sensory
experience conveyed when we eat. In fact, smell (in the form of retronasal olfaction) is a
greater determinant of flavor than is taste. Receptors on taste buds located on papillae of
the tongue and roof of the mouth code for four basic tastes, each of which appears to have
a specific survival value: bitter and sour help us to avoid foods that might be harmful to
us (poisons and acids, respectively), while sweet and salty help us to ingest foods with
necessary nutritional components (calorie-rich sugars and sodium, which are necessary
for neural and muscular functioning). Unlike olfaction, taste qualities are coded by
“labeled lines” from the tongue to the brain, allowing us to easily analyze food tastes into
their four components. Genetic differences separate people into nontasters, “regular”
tasters, and supertasters. Supertasters perceive the tastes of bitter foods to be much more
intense than nontasters do; these perceptual differences have major effects on diet, which
in turn have major health implications. Some people like the burn of capsaicin in chili
peppers, but we are not born liking this burn. People acquire a preference for chili
peppers through exposure, and this can be heavily influenced by the culture in which they
are raised.
Chapter Outline
15.1 Taste versus Flavor
Localizing Flavor Sensations: The Role of Taste
SENSATION & PERCEPTION IN EVERYDAY LIFE : Volatile-Enhanced Taste: A New
Way to Sweeten Foods
15.2 Anatomy and Physiology of the Gustatory System
Taste Myth: The Tongue Map
Taste Buds and Taste Receptor Cells
Non-Oral Locations for Taste Receptors
Taste Processing in the Central Nervous System
15.3 The Four Basic Tastes?
Salty
© Oxford University Press
, Sour
Bitter
Sweet
15.4 Are There More Than Four Basic Tastes? Does It Matter?
Protein: The Umami Question
Fat
15.5 Genetic Variation in Bitter
Supertasters
Health Consequences of Variation in Taste Sensations
15.6 How Do Taste and Flavor Contribute to the Regulation of Nutrients?
SCIENTISTS AT WORK: The Role of Food Preferences in Food Choices
Taste
Flavor
Is All Olfactory Affect Learned?
15.7 The Nature of Taste Qualities
Taste Adaptation and Cross-Adaptation
The Pleasure of the Burn of Chili Peppers
Chapter Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this chapter, students will be able to:
15.1 Taste versus Flavor
15.1.1 Describe the difference between taste and flavor.
15.1.2 Describe the contributions of retronasal olfaction to flavor.
15.1.3 Explain the chorda tympani’s role in taste perception.
15.2 Anatomy and Physiology of the Gustatory System
15.2.1 List the four different types of papillae and describe their functioning.
15.2.2 Explain why the tongue map is a myth.
15.2.3 Describe the physiological parts of the gustatory system from tongue to
cortex, including their functions.
15.3 The Four Basic Tastes?
15.3.1 List the four basic tastes.
15.3.2 Describe the survival value of salty.
15.3.3 Describe the survival value of sour.
© Oxford University Press
