PubMed · 3620922
The taste system encodes stimulus toxicity.
Abstract
Attempts to define the organization of the taste system in terms of the physical characteristics of stimuli have been largely unsuccessful. We recorded taste-evoked neural activity in the rat's hindbrain and determined that stimuli could be effectively organized along a physiological dimension which corresponds to stimulus toxicity. Taste is a visceral sense that mediates between the external and internal chemical environments. Its responsiveness to a wide range of chemicals and its organization along a dimension which promotes the organism's physiological welfare ideally suit it to that purpose.
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T R Scott, G P Mark. 1987-06-23. The taste system encodes stimulus toxicity.. https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-8993(87)91347-3
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