Language
Country/Area
No result found
A nerve's unexpected turn: What mysteriously happens when taste is impaired?
In our lives, the perception of taste is not only a physiological reaction, it also affects our eating habits and quality of life. The taste nerve located in the front of the tongue, called the temporal chord (Chorda tympani), is responsible for the taste sensation from the front 2/3 of the tongue and the secretion function of some salivary glands. This article will take a closer look at the structure and function of this nerve and how it affects taste when damaged.
Structure and path of the temporal chord
The temporal chord is a complex nerve that originates in the pons in the brain stem and passes through the inner ear and temporal bone into the mouth. Its development path is as follows:
- Nerve fibers extend from the pons in the brain stem.
- As the facial nerve emerges, the temporal chord branches out in the facial canal before entering the middle ear just outside the tympanic membrane.
- Finally, the nerve enters the mandibular fossa through the fissure in the temporal bone just below the ear and joins with the lingual nerve, the second division of the trigeminal nerve.
“The temporal chords carry vital sensations and functions in the mouth, playing a key role in our sense of taste and salivation.”
Function of the temporal chords
The temporal chord transmits two types of nerve fibers:
- Special sensory fibers: provide taste perception in the front 2/3 of the tongue.
- Parasympathetic nerve fibers: transmit signals of compassion to the salivary glands, stimulating saliva secretion.
The complexity of taste processing
The taste system is extremely complex, with the temporal nerves working in conjunction with several other cranial nerves. Studies have shown that the temporal chords play an important role in detecting sodium (table salt), but are relatively weak in the perception of other tastes. For example, the temporal chords were relatively insensitive to bitter tastes, but showed similarities to sweet tastes in mice and great apes.
"The sodium sensitivity of the temporal chords to salts may be mediated by amiloride-sensitive sodium channels, which is an important key to our understanding of taste."
Temporal bone chord injury and consequences
When the temporal chord is injured, the taste perception of the front 2/3 of the tongue will be impaired, which will affect our food choices and eating pleasure. Studies have found that if the temporal bone chord is removed at a young age, the related taste buds are difficult to fully recover, and may even cause the structure of some taste buds to change, becoming more like imperforate lingual papillae.
Memory and Adaptation
It is worth noting that damage to the temporal bone chord does not affect the taste sensation in the posterior 1/3 of the tongue, which is mainly supplied by the laryngeal nerve. This means that even if perception in the anterior segment is impaired, the function of the posterior segment remains normal, but damage to the temporal chords can affect the balance of other nerves in the tongue, causing them to overreact.
Conclusion
The interaction between the temporal chords and the tongue reveals the fascinating world of nerves. How does taste change and adapt when a nerve is damaged?
