Notes

• Papillae - each one has several hundred taste buds - each having 50 - 150 receptor cells.
• An average person has 2000 - 5000 taste buds, although super-tasters have as many as 20000. And then there are the sorry bunch who only have 500.

Recordings made in the afferent fibers & The Gustatory System

Where does that gourmet flavor come from?

• Flavor is a complex thing, it is not just the result of the receptors on the tongue. It is highly influenced by smell and vision.
• The color, texture, aroma, expectations, temperature and satiety all play a role in the perception of taste along with the direct activation of the primary tastes.
• Smell and taste are us. Secondary to visual capture.
• Ill-colored food tastes "just not right". (Blue fondue)
• Lumpy mashed potatoes, soggy bacon, celery, or carrots, smoothness of grapes.
• Lack of smell make it difficult to distinguish a bite of an apple vs. an onion.

Capsaicin

• The active ingredient in spicy food.
• Releases substance P from certain nociceptors in the mouth.
• Substance P is a peptide synthesized by noci (pain) receptors that causes vasodilation and release of histamine and hyperalgesia (super sensitivity to pain).
• Be forewarned about the searing pain that comes from rubbing your eyes with chili-stained (capsaicin-coated) fingers.