Human taste response as a function of locus of stimulation on the tongue and soft palate

Taste recognition thresholds and psychophysical intensity functions were determined for NaCl, sucrose, QHC1, urea, and citric acid for four loci on the tongue and on the soft palate. The results showed greater differences between loci than previously reported. Contrary to older data, the threshold for bitter was found to be lower for the fungiform papillae at the front of the tongue and for the soft palate than for the vallate papillae. For all compounds, the slopes of the intensity functions varied with the locus of stimulation. The functions for most compounds were steepest at the vallate and foliate loci.