Mouth-Sense and Flavor
Mouth-Sense and Flavor
In addition to having a smell and a taste, every kind of food and drink has physical properties that give it a feel in the mouth. This feel has been variously referred to as mouth-sense, mouth-feel, or food-texture. Mouth-sense is mediated by the somatosensory system, which encompasses a range of sensory submodalities that include touch, pressure, temperature, and pain. These somatosensory fibers add many important sensory qualities to the taste in our mouths and the smell in our noses, combining with them in the unified perception of flavor. This chapter discusses the receptors in the mouth; the receptors in the nose; the many textures of food; the touch pathway to the cortex; and interactions of touch with taste and smell.
Keywords: mouth, flavor, taste, mouth-sense, somatosensory system
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