Which taste is sensed at the back of the tongue

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If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc. Medical Myths Health. The real truth about whether our tongues have 'taste zones'.

Share using Email. By Claudia Hammond 12th October For years, we were taught that the different taste receptors clump together in zones on our tongues. Can you have a heart attack and not realise? Can some foods make you sleepy?

Is sparkling water bad for your teeth? Around the BBC. There is even some taste research you can do in your own kitchen. One theory you can investigate is that taste sensitivity is laid out like a map on your tongue. For many, many years, books have taught us that salty and sweet tastes are sensed at the tip of the tongue, while bitter is sensed at the back and sour at the sides Box 1 , figure.

The center of the tongue, which has few taste buds, is often left blank. However, taste researchers now believe that taste sensitivity does not follow a simple map. They say tastes can be perceived everywhere on the tongue. Try testing yourself using the experiment in the Do-it-Yourself Box 1. How well does taste sensitivity on your own tongue fit the map? Many books and magazines say taste sensitivity follows a map on your tongue: the front is for salty and sweet, the back is for bitter, and sour is at the sides figure.

Savory, which is a more recent discovery, is usually left out. This experiment will test the sensitivity of different regions of your tongue to sweet, sour, and salty tastes, so you can compare your own patterns with the map. Stir each glass well, rinsing the spoon between solutions.

Dip a Q-Tip in the salt solution and dab it on the back of your tongue. Write down what you taste. Repeat for the sides, center, and front of your tongue.

Try other locations on the tongue, too. Which regions of your tongue can sense each taste? Do they match the taste map? Try the experiment with your friends. Do they have the same patterns of sensitivity you do? They protect taste buds inside them. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Taste perception: cracking the code. PLoS Biol. Making sense of taste. The cell biology of taste. Share on Facebook. Core Concept Published: July 7, Munger, S. The taste map of the tongue you learned in school is all wrong. Monell Chemical Senses Center. Monell taste primer. Informed Health Online [Internet]. How does our sense of taste work? See how discoveries in the lab have improved human health. Read More. Explain the brain to your students with a variety of teaching tools and resources.

For Educators Log in. About the Author. References Munger, S. Also In Taste. Acquired Taste.