Which sense detects chemicals in the mouth to distinguish flavors?

Which sense detects chemicals in the mouth to distinguish flavors?

• A. Taste
• B. Smell
• C. Vision
• D. Hearing

Answer: (A)

Flavor perception begins with the detection of chemicals in the mouth by the gustatory system. Taste buds on the tongue contain taste receptor cells whose microvilli pick up dissolved compounds from foods. When a tastant binds, electrical signals are sent through cranial nerves VII, IX, and X to the brain, and the information is interpreted in the gustatory cortex to yield the sense of taste. Although smell greatly enhances flavor through retronasal olfaction, it is a separate sense that detects airborne chemicals in the nasal cavity. Vision and hearing do not detect chemical flavors. Therefore, the sense that detects chemicals in the mouth to distinguish flavors is taste.

Flavor perception begins with the detection of chemicals in the mouth by the gustatory system. Taste buds on the tongue contain taste receptor cells whose microvilli pick up dissolved compounds from foods. When a tastant binds, electrical signals are sent through cranial nerves VII, IX, and X to the brain, and the information is interpreted in the gustatory cortex to yield the sense of taste. Although smell greatly enhances flavor through retronasal olfaction, it is a separate sense that detects airborne chemicals in the nasal cavity. Vision and hearing do not detect chemical flavors. Therefore, the sense that detects chemicals in the mouth to distinguish flavors is taste.