gustatory system

the primary structures and processes involved in an organism’s detection of and responses to gustatory stimuli. The gustatory system includes lingual papillae, taste buds and taste cells, taste transduction, neural impulses and pathways (see greater superficial petrosal nerve), and associated brain areas and their functions (see taste cortex; solitary nucleus; thalamic taste area). The responses of this system can be modified to an extent by an organism’s physiology, its immediate needs, and its experiences. Also called taste system.

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Psychology term of the day

January 15th 2025

decentralization

n. the trend to relocate patients with chronic mental illness from long-term institutionalization, usually at government hospitals, to outpatient care in community-based residential facilities. —decentralize vb.