Thermal stimulation of taste
Abstract
The first electrophysiological recordings from animal and human taste nerves gave clear evidence of thermal sensitivity, and studies have shown that as many as half of the neurons in mammalian taste pathways respond to temperature. Because temperature has never been shown to induce sensations of taste, it has been assumed that thermal stimulation in the gustatory system is somehow nulled. Here we show that heating or cooling small areas of the tongue can in fact cause sensations of taste: warming the anterior edge of the tongue (chorda tympani nerve) from a cold temperature can evoke sweetness, whereas cooling can evoke sourness and/or saltiness. Thermal taste also occurs on the rear of the tongue (glossopharyngeal nerve), but the relationship between temperature and taste is different there than on the front of the tongue. These observations indicate the human gustatory system contains several different types of thermally sensitive neurons that normally contribute to the sensory code for taste.
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Some individuals experience a phantom taste when small areas of the tongue are rapidly heated or cooled, with most such thermal tastes experiencing sweetness when the anterior edge of the tongue is warmed.
“some individuals experience a phantom taste when small areas of the tongue are rapidly heated or cooled, with most such thermal tastes experiencing sweetness when the anterior edge of the tongue is warmed [131].”
From The Role of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Sensory Factors in Sweetness Perception of Food and Beverages: A Review (2019) · cites this paper as [131]
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“Furthermore, some individuals experience a phantom taste when small areas of the tongue are rapidly heated or cooled, with most such thermal tastes experiencing sweetness when the anterior edge of the tongue is warmed [130].”
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- Authors
- Cruz, A., & Green, B. G.
- Affiliations
- Yale University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Green, Barry G.
- ORCID
- Green, Barry G.
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2000-02
- Volume
- 403
- Issue
- 6772
- Pages
- 889-892
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W1585173856
- Cited by
- 271
- References
- 16
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 7.61
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Ion Channels and Receptors
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
- Keywords
- temperature sensitivity, gustatory system, taste nerve, chorda tympani nerve, glossopharyngeal nerve, sweetness, sour taste, salty taste, sensory coding
- MeSH terms
- Body Temperature, Chorda Tympani Nerve, Cold Temperature, Female, Glossopharyngeal Nerve, Hot Temperature, Humans, Male, Neurons, Afferent, Taste, Taste Buds, Thermoreceptors, Tongue
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