The terminal buds (end buds, beaker organs) of the fish were first observed by LEYDIG (1851) under the name of "becherformiges Organ". Already in a few years after that, morphological details of the structure had been elucidated to the extent that reached almost the limit of the light microscopic observation, even estimated today (SCHULZE 1863, SCHWALBE 1868, NAGEL 1894 etc. See KOLMER 1927 for...

Taste buds in goldfish and other cyprinids are found not only within the oropharyngeal cavity but also scattered over the external body surface. The external taste buds are innervated by branches of the facial nerve that terminate centrally in an enlargement of the medulla termed the facial lobe. The peripheral distribution and areas of innervation of the rami of the facial sensory nerve were d...

It is well known that taste buds are dependent on an intact nerve supply, and when experimentally denervated they degenerate and disappear (von Vintschgau & Honigschmied, 1877; von Vintschgau, 1880; Griffini, 1887; Meyer, 1897; Olmsted, 1920a, b, 1921, 1922; May, 1925; Whiteside, 1927; Torrey, 1934, 1936; Wagner, 1953; Guth, 1957, 1958, 1963; Beidler, 1962, 1963). Olmsted (19206) has suggested ...

Rats lacking chorda tympani nerve (CT) input, a facial nerve branch innervating anterior tongue taste buds, show robust impairments in salt discrimination demonstrating its necessity. Here, we tested the sufficiency of the CT for salt taste discrimination, and whether the remaining input provided by either the greater superficial petrosal nerve (GSP), a facial nerve branch innervating palatal t...

It is well known that taste buds are dependent on an intact nerve supply, and when experimentally denervated they degenerate and disappear (von Vintschgau & Honigschmied, 1877; von Vintschgau, 1880; Griffini, 1887; Meyer, 1897; Olmsted, 1920a, b, 1921, 1922; May, 1925; Whiteside, 1927; Torrey, 1934, 1936; Wagner, 1953; Guth, 1957, 1958, 1963; Beidler, 1962, 1963). Olmsted (19206) has suggested ...

Taste buds contain three types of taste cells. Each type can respond to taste stimulation, and type II and III taste cells are electrically excitable. However, there are differences between the properties of type II and III taste cells. In this study, we found that Fxyd6, an Na,K-ATPase regulator gene, is expressed in type II taste cells in the taste buds of mice. Double-labeled in situ hybridi...

Taste loss in human patients following radiotherapy for head and neck cancer is a common and significant problem, but the cellular mechanisms underlying this loss are not understood. Taste stimuli are transduced by receptor cells within taste buds, and like epidermal cells, taste cells are regularly replaced throughout adult life. This renewal relies on progenitor cells adjacent to taste buds, ...

Notable progress has been made relating individual differences in bitter taste sensitivity to specific alleles and TAS2R receptors, but psychophysical evidence of reliable phenotypes for other tastes has been more elusive. In this issue, Wise and Breslin report a study of individual differences in threshold sensitivity to sour and salty taste, which, though failing to find clear phenotypes, exe...

Taste is one of the fundamental senses, and it is essential for our ability to ingest nutritious substances and to detect and avoid potentially toxic ones. Taste buds, which are clusters of neuroepithelial receptor cells, are housed in highly organized structures called taste papillae in the oral cavity. Whereas the overall structure of the taste periphery is conserved in almost all vertebrates...

CHO cells transfected with high-affinity 5HT receptors were used to detect and identify the release of serotonin from taste buds. Taste cells release 5HT when depolarized or when stimulated with bitter, sweet, or sour tastants. Sour- and depolarization-evoked release of 5HT from taste buds is triggered by Ca2+ influx from the extracellular fluid. In contrast, bitter- and sweet-evoked release of...