Abstract
The concept of taste as a form of perception is often overlooked, yet it represents a complex mechanism that is worth considering closer. Specifically, the nature of tasting can be represented as a combination of biological and psychological phenomena. Therefore, examining the subject matter as a biopsychological process will reveal the nuances of human perception. Therefore, in order to understand the nature of taste, as well as the nuance of the associated functions, the introduction of the biopsychological perspective is vital. The specified approach sheds light on how the concept of taste is formed and shaped, as well as determine the link between the identification of taste and the production of the relevant response to the obtained information.
Introduction
The function of taste is one of the five basic sensorimotor functions that allow people to develop the basic understanding of reality. Since the ability to experience taste of different types of food is inherent for most people, save several disorders and conditions leading to impaired taste, the specified sensorimotor function is often taken for granted. Specifically, it used to be seen as a purely biological concept (Di Lorenzo, 2021). However, recent studies in biopsychology allow asserting that taste as a function of perception and sensation represents a complex biopsychological mechanism that incorporates a psychological perspective as well (Di Lorenzo, 2021). By examining the function of taste form a biopsychological perspective, one will be able to embrace the complexity of the human perception, particularly, the nervous system mechanisms.
Physiological Underpinnings
The core physiological underpinnings of the taste function in the human body involve the active performance of the nervous system. Specifically, from a physiological perspective, the experience of tasting something involves the performance of the chemosensory receptors known as taste buds and located on the surface of the tongue (Kayyal et al., 2019). The specified receptors serve as the tools for obtaining critical data input via the data collected with the help of columnar cells on the tongue surface (Kayyal et al., 2019). In turn, with different sections of the tongue being responsible for different somatosensations, namely, the touch, the pressure, or the pain (Kayyal et al., 2019). As soon as the molecular input is perceived, the chemical stimulus launches the development o the electrical impulse that sends the data to the brain. In turn, the brain decodes it, recognizing the taste as one of the five types, namely, bitter, sour, sweet, salty, and umami (Bartoshuk & Snyder, 2019).
Structure
The structure of taste perception is rather basic and straightforward. At first, the information supplied by the respective food source reaches the taste buds located on the tongue (Taruno et al., 2021). As the substance reaches the taste buds, the afferent nerve reacts to the obtained information (Taruno et al., 2021). As a result, a signal is sent to the brain, launching a reaction involving the processing of the perception and the further identification of the core properties of the taste, namely, it being sour, bitter, sweet, salty, or umami (Taruno et al., 2021). Finally, the cognitive emotional response is produced, representing either pleasure or disgust of varying degrees.
Function
The main function of the ability to taste is also quite simple, involving the identification of the potential value of the consumed items. Namely, the ability to taste allows one to locate the food items that are potentially useful and differentiate them from those that may cause harm, such as rotten food (Esra & Pehlivan, 2021). In turn, the psychological function of taste can eb linked to those of aesthetic pleasure and cultural relevance.
Psychological Underpinnings
In turn, the psychological underpinnings of the process of tasting items is just as complex and intricate. Specifically, the psychological underpinnings of recognizing taste are linked strongly to cultural determinants, namely, the ideas associated with each of the tastes, as well as the general perception of the food item that produces the taste in question, thus, leading to the development of a respective emotional response (Kayyal et al., 2019). Therefore, while the biological and the psychological processes associated with the perception of taste are not entirely consecutive, there is a presence of certain continuity in their occurrence.
Cognitive-Perceptual
At the cognitive-perceptual stage of the process of tasting items, the further assessment of taste takes place after it has been deciphered by the brain as one of the five flavors. Namely, it involves the introduction of the sociocultural perceptions of taste and the associated ideas, therefore, shaping one’s experience of tasting something as either pleasant or unpleasant, as well as introducing a myriad of nuances into the specified process (Esra & Pehlivan, 2021). Namely, with the production of the output, namely, the identification of the taste of a certain food as bitter, sour, sweet, salty, or umami, the cognitive function of the brain connects the specified data to specific sociocultural concepts linked to the taste in question.
The specified experience launches the process of the emotional response to the taste, as well as the further recognition of its specific flavor and the associated sociocultural notions. The process in question allows distinguishing not only between the five types of taste-related experiences, but also the flavors, assigning a certain emotional value to them (Esra & Pehlivan, 2021). Namely, the specified stage of tasting leads to forming an emotional response that my range from enjoyment to indifference to disgust, depending on the type of substance that one tastes and one’s personal perception thereof.
Admittedly, the psychological aspect of the tasting experience is not entirely separated from the physiological at the specified point. For instance, while the process of assigning a cultural value to a certain taste does lead to significant differences in individual experiences of the same food in different participants, there are certain flavors that will yield a unanimous response, such as disgust toward rotten or otherwise unpleasantly tasting food (Esra & Pehlivan, 2021). Nonetheless, the described stage of tasting typically involves the integration of psychological perceptions, namely, the use of cognitive analysis of a product, that shape one’s interpretation of the taste and the subsequent emotional response to it.
The biopsychological framework allows linking the emotional perceptions, the cognitive ones, and the physiological ones into a single framework that delineates the nuances of the entire mechanism. As a result, the processing of taste is represented as a complex and cohesive chain of events within core systems of the human body, particularly, the nervous and the digestive ones (Esra & Pehlivan, 2021). Therefore, considering the process of taste perception solely from the biological standpoint would imply limiting the understanding of the phenomenon and its nature.
Conclusion
The incorporation of the biological and psychological perspectives into the analysis of the function of taste as one of the elements of the nervous system will help shed light on the nature and functioning thereof. Specifically, the connection between the cognitive assessment of reality and the biological mechanisms that facilitate it will become possible with the incorporation of the biopsychological interpretation of the issue. The current analysis of the subject matter indicates that the psychological underpinnings of the function of taste, particularly, the olfactory, tactile, and gustatory aspects thereof, largely affect behaviors and mood changes in people. Therefore, further analysis of the issue is required to explore the use of the taste function as the means of addressing psychological concerns.
References
Bartoshuk, L., & Snyder, D. (2019). Psychology as a biological science. Noba.
Di Lorenzo, P. M. (2021). Neural coding of food is a multisensory, sensorimotor function. Nutrients, 13(2), 398. Web.
Esra, U. S. T. A., & Pehlivan, M. (2021). Mediation Effect of Depression on the Association between Food Addiction and Body Image in Individuals with Obesity. Konuralp Medical Journal, 13(3), 576-584. Web.
Kayyal, H., Yiannakas, A., Chandran, S. K., Khamaisy, M., Sharma, V., & Rosenblum, K. (2019). Activity of insula to basolateral amygdala projecting neurons is necessary and sufficient for taste valence representation. Journal of Neuroscience, 39(47), 9369-9382. Web.
Taruno, A., Nomura, K., Kusakizako, T., Ma, Z., Nureki, O., & Foskett, J. K. (2021). Taste transduction and channel synapses in taste buds. Pflügers Archiv-European Journal of Physiology, 473(1), 3-13. Web.