How the Body Works : The Tongue
The Tongue
The tongue recognizes four qualities of taste, which can blend to produce subtle variations. The taste pathways begin in the tip, middle and back of the tongue and travel to the brain. Sensations of sweet and salt are carried mainly by the nerves from the tip, sour tastes are carried by nerves from the middle and bitter tastes by nerves from the back of the tongue. The nerves cross in the medulla and pass to the thalamus and the cortex. Taste from one side of the tongue is interpreted in the opposite side of the brain.