The Physiology of Taste , Vintage 2000 Minireview olfactory and taste information in the brain and gener -

the mouth and whose chimney is the nose. . . .” And yet of all our senses, taste, such as Nature has Questions of Taste created it, remains the one which, on the whole, gives The initial event in taste sensation requires the stimulaus the maximum of delight: tion of specific subsets of taste receptor cells by tastant 1. Because the pleasure of eating is the only one, which, molecules. In mammals, taste receptor cells are clusenjoyed in moderation, is not followed by weariness; tered into taste buds, onion-shaped structures embed2. Because it is of all times, all ages, and in all condided within the lingual epithelium in the fungiform, foliate, tions; and circumvallate papillae, and found also in the soft 3. Because it recurs of necessity at least once a day, palate and the epiglottis. and may without inconvenience be repeated twice How is the diversity and specificity of tastant recognior three times within the same space of time; tion achieved? Understanding of the neural principles 4. Because it can be enjoyed in company with all our of chemosensory function requires the identification of other pleasures, and can even console us for their the signaling machinery itself and of the neuronal pathabsence; ways that process the peripheral chemosensory infor5. Because the impressions which it receives are at mation into meaningful neuronal representation in the once more durable and more dependent on our will; brain, resulting in complex sensory perception. The 6. And lastly because, when we eat, we experience an identification of genes encoding olfactory and vomeroindefinable and peculiar sensation of well-being, arisnasal receptors have led to tremendous progress in the ing out of an instinctive awareness that through what understanding of olfactory and pheromone information we were eating we are repairing our losses and proprocessing (see Buck review in this issue of Cell). Similonging our existence (Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin larly, the identification of a novel family of genes encodin La Physiologie du Goût, Paris, 1825). ing receptors for bitter tastants represents a very signifi-