Nociceptors: Tasty Pain?
| Scattered throughout the tongue, nociceptors (pain
receptors) perceive and alert us to pain in the mouth. These receptors,
coupled with the taste receptors, allow us to feel two other sensations in
our mouths. Hot (spicy) and cool.
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| The sensation of spicy foods is caused by a chemical found in hot peppers called capsaicin. Capsaicin triggers the pain receptors to tell the brain, "Ouch, Hot!!!!" and we are supposed to spit it out. Most of us however, seem to enjoy a little spice in our foods, some more than others. Why punish ourselves? The answer to that is unknown. No one is exactly sure why some of us enjoy the flavor of capsaicin and others detest it. The most likely answer is that those of us with a high concentration of taste receptors, and pain receptors, are unable to handle the extreme pain of capsaicin. But those of us with a lesser amount will find capsaicin flavorful and only slightly spicy. | |
 Crushed Chewing Gum |
The opposite of spicy is, of course, cool. Though the
sensation of cool is much harder to come by. It is triggered by menthol,
found in most types of chewing gum and peppermints. Since menthol is not
regularly found in our foods, our brain doesn't seem to perceive it as a
threat and does not usually trigger a reflex.
Menthol is found in the peppermint plant and it is believed to be a defense mechanism of the plant itself. The pain caused by the menthol would deter any animals that would desire to eat it. |
| Sources... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewing_gum |
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