Expert: Florence M Rollwagen - 9/1/2008

Question
Hello sir..
         I've again a question..am very thankful to u for answering me..thankew so much!
         Well my question is that when we smell food saliva is secreted in mouth even at the thought of tasty food..But i want to know that when we hear or smell sweet food or spicy food, only sweet taste buds, spicy test buds respectively are stimulated or all of the taste buds are stimulated?
          I'll be very grateful to u..

Answer
Hi Pooja:  Are you taking a biology class?  Perhaps you should ask your teacher some of these questions.  If you're not taking a biology class I suggest that you do so.  Not because you are asking too many questions, but because you are thinking so hard about biology, you might get a better picture if you had some organization.  But I will still continue to answer your questions.

Taste buds are stimulated only by the molecular interactions of food molecules and the nerves in the taste buds.  If you're smelling food it's the nerves in your nose that are being stimulated.  In addition, your brain senses these smells from your nose and begins the salivation process in preparation for eating.  Thinking about food can elicit the same memories/sensations as eating, and that's what stimulates salivation.  It's what we call a "conditioned stimulus" made famous by Dr Pavlov and his dogs.


I hope this answer helps you.  Please write back if you have more questions.

FM Rollwagen, PhD