The tongue map and the spatial modulation of taste perception

There is undoubtedly a spatial component to our experience of gustatory stimulus qualities such as sweet, bitter, salty, sour, and umami, however its importance is currently unknown. Taste thresholds have been shown to differ at different locations within the oral cavity where gustatory receptors are found. However, the relationship between the stimulation of particular taste receptors and the subjective spatially-localized experience of taste qualities is uncertain. Although the existence of the so-called ‘tongue map’ has long been discredited, the psychophysical evidence clearly demonstrates significant (albeit small) differences in taste sensitivity across the tongue, soft palate, and pharynx (all sites where taste buds have been documented). Biases in the perceived localization of gustatory stimuli have also been reported, often resulting from tactile capture (i.e., a form of crossmodal, or multisensory, interaction). At the same time, varying responses to supratheshold tastants along the tongue's anterior-posterior axis have putatively been linked to the ingestion-ejection response. This narrative review highlights what is currently known concerning the spatial aspects of gustatory perception, considers how such findings might be explained, given the suggested balanced distribution of taste receptors for each basic taste quality where taste papillae are present, and suggests why knowing about such differences may be important.