Debunking the Tongue Map: How Taste Buds Actually Work

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(Many maps add a fifth flavor, umami, though it wasn't part of the original design.)\rBut that interpretation of the \u201Ctongue map\u201D is actually a myth.\rYou can even disprove it at home: if you put lemon juice on the so-called \u201Csweet\u201D section of your tongue, it still tastes sour. And placing a piece of cotton candy on the \u201Csalty\u201D area doesn\u2019t stop it from tasting sweet. \rSo where did this myth come from? Well, the creator of the tongue map didn\u2019t intend to suggest that taste receptor cells are limited to specific regions of the tongue. He was actually measuring flavor sensitivity.\rIt\u2019s true that the tip of the tongue has a lot of \u201Csweet\u201D taste receptors, and so is more responsive to sweet flavors than the sides or back are.\rBut that doesn\u2019t mean the tip of the tongue can only taste sweet flavors. It still has taste receptors for salt, bitterness, sourness, and umami, too! \rSo how does your tongue actually taste different flavors? Taste receptor cells occur on the tongue in diverse groups of 50 to 150, and each of these groups form a taste bud. The average human tongue has anywhere from 2,000 to 8,000 taste buds\u2014and, because of those different receptors, they can all taste more than one flavor.", "width" : 1920, "height" : 1080, "url": "https://www.britannica.com/video/do-different-parts-of-the-tongue-taste-different-flavors-video/-308643" } </script> </head> <body data-leg="A" class="standalone-video-page user-ANONYMOUS user-ads md-desktop leg-a b-ie">  <script>Mendel.config.adProvider='cafemedia';</script> <script data-no-optimize="1" data-cfasync="false"> (function(w, d) { w.adthrive = w.adthrive || {}; w.adthrive.cmd = w. adthrive.cmd || []; w.adthrive.plugin = 'adthrive-ads-manual'; w.adthrive.host = 'ads.adthrive.com';var s = d.createElement('script'); s.async = true; s.referrerpolicy='no-referrer-when-downgrade'; s.src = 'https://' + w.adthrive.host + '/sites/61575e5c934c481d714b3ca9/ads.min.js?referrer=' + w.encodeURIComponent(w.location.href) + '&cb=' + (Math.floor(Math.random() * 100) + 1); var n = d.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; n.parentNode.insertBefore(s, n); })(window, document); </script> <div class="ie-warning d-flex align-items-center align-self-center justify-content-center site-alert bg-orange"> <div> You are using an <strong>outdated</strong> browser. 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video-player-with-playlist"> <div class="col-100 "> <div id="vpwpl-video-player-container" class="vpwpl-video-thumbnail-container position-relative top-0"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/05/258405-138-D094CF5E/do-different-parts-of-the-tongue-taste-different-flavors-video.jpg" alt="Do different parts of the tongue taste different flavors?" class="rounded super-video-thumbnail" /> <div class="btn btn-xl border border-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="border-width: 4px; top: 50%; left:50%; transform: translate(-50%,-50%)"> <em class="material-icons text-white" data-icon="play_arrow"></em> </div> </div> <div class="vpwpl-video-title mt-10 font-weight-bold mb-10"> Do different parts of the tongue taste different flavors? </div> <div class="vpwpl-video-caption mt-15 d-none d-md-block mb-10"> The “tongue map” locates taste receptors for sweet, salty, bitter, and sour flavors on different parts of the tongue. </div> <div class="vpwpl-credit mb-20 font-13 text-gray-600 font-italic "> Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. </div> </div> <ul class=" col-100 vpwpl-playlist-below vpwpl-playlist mt-15 mt-md-0"> <li class="vpwpl-video-item-1 vpwpl-video-item video-playing" data-assemblyid="308643"> <script type="application/json">{"image":"https://cdn.britannica.com/05/258405-138-D094CF5E/do-different-parts-of-the-tongue-taste-different-flavors-video.jpg","sources":[{"file":"//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/tEhrSddX.m3u8"}],"assetId":258405,"adfile":"//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/kjoIi1oY.m3u8","title":"Do different parts of the tongue taste different flavors?","tracks":[{"file":"//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/7mMjT3WB.vtt","label":"English"}],"transcriptUrl":"/video/do-different-parts-of-the-tongue-taste-different-flavors-video/-308643#transcript"}</script> <script data-id="video-credit" type="text/plain">Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.</script> <script data-id="video-caption" type="text/plain">The “tongue map” locates taste receptors for sweet, salty, bitter, and sour flavors on different parts of the tongue.</script> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal " > <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="https://www.britannica.com/video/do-different-parts-of-the-tongue-taste-different-flavors-video/-308643" >Do different parts of the tongue taste different flavors?</a> </div> <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="https://www.britannica.com/video/do-different-parts-of-the-tongue-taste-different-flavors-video/-308643"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/05/258405-138-D094CF5E/do-different-parts-of-the-tongue-taste-different-flavors-video.jpg?w=100&h=75&c=crop" alt="Do different parts of the tongue taste different flavors?" width="100" height="75" /> <div class="btn btn-sm border border-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="border-width: 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type="text/plain">Explaining the science behind taste and smell.</script> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal " > <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="https://www.britannica.com/video/science-taste/-207225" >How do artificial flavors mimic real ones?</a> </div> <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="https://www.britannica.com/video/science-taste/-207225"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/46/186946-138-812D206A/science-taste.jpg?w=100&h=75&c=crop" alt="How do artificial flavors mimic real ones?" width="100" height="75" /> <div class="btn btn-sm border border-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="border-width: 3px; top: 50%; left:50%; transform: translate(-50%,-50%)"> <em class="material-icons text-white" data-icon="play_arrow"></em> </div> </a> </div> </div> </li> <li class="vpwpl-video-item-3 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ilf-title" href="https://www.britannica.com/video/foods/-207227" >Uncover the science of why some foods taste sweet</a> </div> <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="https://www.britannica.com/video/foods/-207227"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/47/186947-138-84927CD3/foods.jpg?w=100&h=75&c=crop" alt="Uncover the science of why some foods taste sweet" width="100" height="75" /> <div class="btn btn-sm border border-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="border-width: 3px; top: 50%; left:50%; transform: translate(-50%,-50%)"> <em class="material-icons text-white" data-icon="play_arrow"></em> </div> </a> </div> </div> </li> <li class="vpwpl-video-item-4 vpwpl-video-item " data-assemblyid="193831"> <script 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href="https://www.britannica.com/video/dogs-each-other/-207927" >Why do dogs sniff each other's butts?</a> </div> <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="https://www.britannica.com/video/dogs-each-other/-207927"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/69/187069-138-978A83CC/dogs-each-other.jpg?w=100&h=75&c=crop" alt="Why do dogs sniff each other's butts?" width="100" height="75" /> <div class="btn btn-sm border border-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="border-width: 3px; top: 50%; left:50%; transform: translate(-50%,-50%)"> <em class="material-icons text-white" data-icon="play_arrow"></em> </div> </a> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="related-topics mt-20 font-14 text-muted"> <strong>Related Articles:</strong> <span id="related-articles"> <a class="" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/chemoreception">chemoreception</a> , <a class="" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/flavor">flavor</a> , <a class="" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/food">food</a> , <a class="" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/senses">senses</a> , <a class="" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/sensory-neuron">sensory neuron</a> , <a class="" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/taste-sense">taste</a> , <a class="" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/taste-bud">taste bud</a> , <a class="" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/tongue">tongue</a> , <a class="" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/umami">umami</a> </span> </div> <hr class="my-30 col-100"> <h2 class="font-16 text-uppercase my-30">Transcript</h2> <div id ="transcript" class="lh-lg font-serif"> Depending on how old you are, you may have encountered an image like this one in a school science lesson. This “tongue map” locates taste receptors for sweet, salty, bitter, and sour flavors on different parts of the tongue, implying that different areas detect different flavors. (Many maps add a fifth flavor, umami, though it wasn't part of the original design.) But that interpretation of the “tongue map” is actually a myth. You can even disprove it at home: if you put lemon juice on the so-called “sweet” section of your tongue, it still tastes sour. And placing a piece of cotton candy on the “salty” area doesn’t stop it from tasting sweet. So where did this myth come from? Well, the creator of the tongue map didn’t intend to suggest that taste receptor cells are limited to specific regions of the tongue. He was actually measuring flavor sensitivity. It’s true that the tip of the tongue has a lot of “sweet” taste receptors, and so is more responsive to sweet flavors than the sides or back are. But that doesn’t mean the tip of the tongue can only taste sweet flavors. It still has taste receptors for salt, bitterness, sourness, and umami, too! So how does your tongue actually taste different flavors? Taste receptor cells occur on the tongue in diverse groups of 50 to 150, and each of these groups form a taste bud. 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Debunking the Tongue Map: How Taste Buds Actually Work | Britannica