Representation of Umami Taste in the Human Brain
Abstract
Umami taste stimuli, of which an exemplar is monosodium glutamate (MSG) and which capture what is described as the taste of protein, were shown using functional MRI (fMRI) to activate similar cortical regions of the human taste system to those activated by a prototypical taste stimulus, glucose. These taste regions included the insular/opercular cortex and the caudolateral orbitofrontal cortex. A part of the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was also activated. When the nucleotide 0.005 M inosine 5′-monophosphate (IMP) was added to MSG (0.05 M), the blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) signal in an anterior part of the orbitofrontal cortex showed supralinear additivity; this may reflect the subjective enhancement of umami taste that has been described when IMP is added to MSG. These results extend to humans previous studies in macaques showing that single neurons in these taste cortical areas can be tuned to umami stimuli.
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For the full sensory impact of palatable food, and the subjective feeling of pleasure in humans, taste is integrated with other sensory modalities such as smell and mouth feel in forebrain areas including the amygdala, as well as primary and higher-order sensory cortical areas, including the insular and orbitofrontal cortex, to form sensory representations of particular foods.
“Clearly, for the full sensory impact of palatable food, and the subjective feeling of pleasure in humans, taste is integrated with other sensory modalities such as smell and mouth feel in forebrain areas including the amygdala, as well as primary and higher-order sensory cortical areas, including the insular and orbitofrontal cortex, to form sensory representations of particular foods ([43](#B43),”
From Food reward, hyperphagia, and obesity (2011) · cites this paper as [43]
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Self-citation
- Authors
- de Araujo, I. E. T., Kringelbach, M. L., Rolls, E. T., & Hobden, P.
- Venue
- Journal of Neurophysiology
- Publisher
- American Physiological Society
- Published
- 2003-07
- Volume
- 90
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 313-319
- ISSN
- 0022-3077 (ISSN-L)
- 1522-1598
- OpenAlex
- W2132924691
- Cited by
- 254
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 14
- FWCI
- 10.32
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Neurophysiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Tactile and Sensory Interactions
- Keywords
- umami taste, monosodium glutamate, inosine 5'-monophosphate, taste cortex, insula, orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, taste enhancement, human brain
- MeSH terms
- Brain, Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Female, Glucose, Humans, Inosine Monophosphate, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Sodium Glutamate, Taste, Time Factors
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