Parallel processing in mammalian taste buds?

ROPER, S.D. Parallel processing in mammalian taste buds? Physiol Behav XXX(Y) 000-000, 2009. There is emerging evidence that two parallel lines of gustatory information are generated in taste buds. One pathway leads to higher cortical centers and is involved in discriminating basic taste qualities (sweet, bitter, sour, salty, umami) and perceiving flavors. The other pathway may conduct information involved in physiological reflexes such as swallowing, salivation, and cephalic phase digestion. If this notion is true, the existence of two populations of taste bud cells that have different functional characteristics may lie at the origins of the two pathways. This speculative concept is explored in this review of taste signal processing in mammalian taste buds.