A theory of taste stimulation.

The treatment in this paper of available quantitative data on the response of taste receptors to sodium salt stimulation clearly indicates that the ions of the chemical stimulus are loosely bound to some substance of the taste receptor. This can be thought of as an initial reaction which ultimately leads to stimulation of the receptor and an eventual depolarization of the associated sensory neuron. The speed of the total reaction suggests that the receptor substance is located on or near the surface of the receptor. The recently proposed (7) enzymatic reactions for chemoreceptors do not appear plausible for sodium salt stimulation of the taste receptors of the rat.