Dissolved molecules in the mouth or throat that we can perceive as sweet, sour, salty, bitter, or umami (savory) are detected by taste receptors on taste receptor cells. This information is passed to axons of the facial, glossopharyngeal, and vagus nerves to synapse in the solitary nucleus in the lower brainstem. Axons from the solitary nucleus travel, probably bilaterally, in a tract called the solitariothalamic tract to synapse in the thalamus. These thalamic neurons then project to the insula and neighboring cortex, which is probably primary gustatory cortex. Nearby cortex is probably association cortex integrating gustatory and olfactory information for more complex perceptions of flavor.
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