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Children learn about taste in grade school -- out of the five senses, it seems like one of the
simplest. There are no cones, rods or lenses. There are no tympanic membranes or miniscule
bones. Yet scientists know less about taste than they know about sight and hearing -- senses that
are far more complex. Why is something seemingly so rudimentary so complicated and
controversial? Why is taste so mysterious?
Sensation to Perception
Taste begins with sensation in the form of electrical impulses. Sensations, however -- responses
to stimuli like pressure, light or chemical composition -- become perceptions like touch, vision
or taste only when they reach the brain.
Sour? Sweet? When the primary tastes collide, lemonade is just delicious.
Taste Assimilation
Everything tastes better when
you're hungry, right? Well, it
actually might. In a study
done by researchers at the
University of Malawi, groups
of students who had not eaten
in 16 hours could perceive
weaker sucrose and salt
solutions than those who had
eaten only an hour before. In
order to discern taste,
students who had just eaten
needed a sucrose
concentration 50 percent
higher and a salt
concentration, double that of
those who had not eaten. But
our poison-detecting sense
never rests: An empty or full
stomach had no effect on the
perception of bitterness
Supertasters
Supertasters don't always make better food
or wine critics. Their sense of flavor often
differs drastically from that of the general
population.