Taste

Related Topics Smell Diet and Lifestyle Body Systems
Image of a cartoon character jumping in the air with fire coming out of its mouth after eating a spicy food.
The Science of Spiciness
When you take a bite of a hot pepper, your body reacts as if your mouth is on fire -- because that's essentially what you've told your brain!
  • TED
  • 4 min.
What is a Supertaster?
Learn why some people experience taste more intensely than other people in this video excerpt from NOVA scienceNOW.
  • Teachers' Domain
Savory Science: Jelly Bean Taste Test
Find out what the nose knows and the mouth leaves out in this experiment.
  • Scientific American
Sour Science: Do Sour Taste Preferences Change with Age?
If you developed a super-sour food, to whom would you try to sell it?
  • Scientific American
Super-Tasting Science: Find Out If You're a "Supertaster"!
Supertasters sense food's flavor more strongly than most. Check your tongue for clues about your tasting tendencies!
  • Scientific American
Brain and Behavior Lesson Plan
Students are introduced to brain structure, neurotransmitters, hormones, and neural networks in this nine part lesson.
  • Baylor College of Medicine
The Biology of Picky Eating
Everyone knows a picky eater — a former classmate of mine ate only cereal, pasta and milk — but why does picky eating exist?
  • BrainFacts/SfN
Cockroach Taste System Evolves to Evade Exterminators
Cockroaches are quickly evolving to avoid precisely the yummy, sweet-tasting poisoned baits that I was using to keep them out of my kitchen.
  • BrainFacts/SfN
Yes, I'll have some dessert
Why and how we overeat
An Ocean of Sensations
The brain receives information about the outside world via the senses. But how much of this information do we actually notice?
  • BrainFacts/SfN
What does it mean to have synesthesia?
Synesthesia is a condition in which stimulation of one sense automatically evokes a perception in an unstimulated sense.
  • BrainFacts/SfN
Taste and Smell
Although most of us don’t think of it in this way, the related senses of taste and smell help us interpret the chemical world.
  • BrainFacts/SfN
Studying Our Senses
During this lab activity, students will explore two types of sensory processes. First, they will investigate how one identifies different flavors. Then, they will explore the ways the brain interprets the visual images that reach the eye.
  • University of Pennsylvania

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