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Hello. My name is Alan Spector.
I'm a distinguished
research professor
in the department of psychology
and program in neuroscience at
the Florida State University.
I've been asked to give an
overview of the anatomy
and physiology of the
gustatory system,
and discuss its
functional organization.
I would like to thank HSTalks
for giving me the
opportunity to do so.
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As you know, the alimentary
tract is one long tube.
It starts here,
and it ends here.
As solids and liquids are
placed in the mouth
and swallowed,
their contents
engage a variety of
sensory receptors which
send signals to the brain,
and indeed also trigger action
in the enteric nervous system.
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Most of my professional
life has been focused here,
trying to understand what the
role of the gustatory system is
in the symphony of
signals arising
from the alimentary tract
and guiding behavior.
In this lecture, I will review
the basic hardware of
the gustatory system,
and relate it to the functional
properties of taste.
I would like to start
off by pointing out that
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most people do not distinguish
between taste and flavor.
Flavor is the perceptual
integration of the taste,
smell, temperature, and
textural properties
of an oral stimulus.
Whereas taste is the
perceptual, behavioral,
and physiological
responses triggered by
signals arising specifically
from taste receptor cells.
This is why when
you have a cold,
you say food tastes differently,
but in reality, you should say
the food smells differently,
which is because
nasal congestion prevents
the volatile molecules
from reaching your
olfactory receptors.
Take the jellybean test.
Close your eyes and
pinch your nose,
and have your friend give you
a distinctly flavored jellybean.
See if you can
identify the flavor.
You will taste the
sweetness and the tartness
which is through the
gustatory system.
But you will be
unable to identify
the flavor like orange,
strawberry, vanilla,
or whatever, which
is based on smell.
