WEBVTT - Why Can't I Taste My Tongue? 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works, Hey, brain stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogel bomb Here. It may seem like a ridiculous

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<v Speaker 1>question at first, but it's actually a mind bender. Why

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<v Speaker 1>can't you taste your tongue? A thirteenth century Indian mystic

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<v Speaker 1>deaniche War even used it in contemplation on the very

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<v Speaker 1>nature of being. Along with its fellow sense organs of eyes, ears, nose,

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<v Speaker 1>and skin, the tongue serves as one of the primary

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<v Speaker 1>ways we experience the world and form a working model

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<v Speaker 1>of it. The same riddle is frequently applied to the eye.

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<v Speaker 1>Though we can certainly see our own eyes and reflections,

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<v Speaker 1>we can feel our own skin, though, of course, the

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<v Speaker 1>tip of your left index finger can't touch itself, and

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<v Speaker 1>the ear cannot hear itself, but neither does it make

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<v Speaker 1>a sound. The tongue, however, looks in our mouth like

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<v Speaker 1>a layered beast, flip flopping its way through our daily conversations,

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<v Speaker 1>tasting our food and occasionally dislodging a little bit of

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<v Speaker 1>it from our teeth. Perhaps we're more inclined to ponder

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<v Speaker 1>the mystery of the tongue due to its hidden nature

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<v Speaker 1>or the many lingering myths regarding its functionality. Tongue rolling,

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<v Speaker 1>for instance, is not the simple genetic trait that we

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<v Speaker 1>often chalk it up to be. Nor is the tongue

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<v Speaker 1>our strongest muscle, and while we're at it, it's a

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<v Speaker 1>collection of muscles. Neither is the tongue laid out like

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<v Speaker 1>a simple map with different zones for sweet, salty, sour,

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<v Speaker 1>and bitter. One of the biggest misconceptions about the tongue, however,

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<v Speaker 1>is that it rules alone in its governance of flavor sensations.

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<v Speaker 1>The receptor cells in our taste buds certainly carry out

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<v Speaker 1>the chemical sensation of taste, but they're located on the

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<v Speaker 1>bumpy external surface of our tongue. They're not able to

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<v Speaker 1>turn those powers inward on themselves. They collect tactile and

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<v Speaker 1>thermal details about any morsel that enters their domain. But

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<v Speaker 1>the brain also depends upon your sense of smell to

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<v Speaker 1>interpret flavor, So the tongue is not alone in its

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<v Speaker 1>taste mission. Your tongue can taste food or the remnants

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<v Speaker 1>of food in your mouth. Accidentally bite your tongue and

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<v Speaker 1>you can taste the blood trickling out of its own wound.

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<v Speaker 1>Fun fact, all that saliva and those blood vessels in

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<v Speaker 1>your mouth seem to allow for quick healing. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also taste your own saliva, and who hasn't had a

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<v Speaker 1>bad taste in their mouth, whether from some aggressive garlic

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<v Speaker 1>or an underlying medical condition. And yes, lovebirds, you can

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<v Speaker 1>pick up on all these sensations during an open mouth kiss,

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<v Speaker 1>but you'll still find yourself at pains to taste an

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<v Speaker 1>actual living tongue. Psychologists also talk about the conception of habituation,

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<v Speaker 1>or the idea that if a stimulus is presented often

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<v Speaker 1>enough or for long enough, we learn to ignore it.

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<v Speaker 1>Like that scent you sprits on before you leave the

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<v Speaker 1>house that everyone but you can still smell later on

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<v Speaker 1>in the day. The inability to taste our tongues could

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<v Speaker 1>be an example of that phenomenon. In any case, we

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<v Speaker 1>may not be able to taste our tongues for several reasons,

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<v Speaker 1>but don't let that stand in the way of a

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<v Speaker 1>little mystic naval gazing. Today's episode was written by Robert

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<v Speaker 1>Lamb and produced by Tyler Clang. To hear more from Robert,

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<v Speaker 1>check out his weird science podcast Stuff to Blow Your Mind,

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<v Speaker 1>and of course, for lots more on this and other

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<v Speaker 1>tasty topics. Visit our home planet, pustuf works dot com,

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<v Speaker 1>m