Breslin Paul A S, Huang Liquan
Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, Pa., USA.
Adv Otorhinolaryngol. 2006;63:152-190. doi: 10.1159/000093760.
The anatomy, physiology and psychology of taste provide a glimpse into a uniquely heterogeneous sensory world; a world that is robust in its importance to flavor, redundant in its transductive heterogeneity and complexity, requisite in that feeding and hence life usually depend upon taste input, regenerative in that taste cells constantly turn over and regrow after tissue damage, and resistant to disease, loss of neural innervation and epithelial destruction. This chapter considers our current state of knowledge in anatomy, taste bud physiology, molecular biology of bitter, sweet, sour, savory and salty tastes, afferent signaling and quality coding, human perception, and pathophysiology and senescence of taste. We highlight some of the advances made in molecular biology of taste and point out areas where further research is needed ranging from taste bud development and regeneration, to within-taste bud processing, to central/perceptual coding networks for taste. Our hope is that this chapter will provide a background for greater understanding of taste physiology, perception, disease, and future sensory research.
味觉的解剖学、生理学和心理学为我们展现了一个独特的异质性感官世界；这个世界对风味至关重要，其转导的异质性和复杂性使其功能冗余，由于进食以及生命通常依赖味觉输入而必不可少，因味觉细胞在组织损伤后会不断更新和再生而具有再生能力，并且对疾病、神经支配丧失和上皮破坏具有抵抗力。本章探讨了我们目前在味觉解剖学、味蕾生理学、苦味、甜味、酸味、鲜味和咸味的分子生物学、传入信号和品质编码、人类感知以及味觉的病理生理学和衰老方面的知识状况。我们强调了味觉分子生物学方面取得的一些进展，并指出了从味蕾发育和再生到味蕾内加工再到味觉的中枢/感知编码网络等需要进一步研究的领域。我们希望本章将为更深入理解味觉生理学、感知、疾病以及未来的感官研究提供背景知识。
