We all know that when it comes to enjoying food, taste and smell go hand in hand. But how and where they hold hands in the neural circuits of the brain has always been something of a mystery.
Neuroscientists have known for a while that odor receptors in the nose send signals to the brain's taste center, also known as the gustatory cortex. But does the converse happen? Do taste receptors in the tongue talk to the smell center, the olfactory cortex?
New research suggests the answer is yes.