The Neural Basis of Taste and Sensory Functions in the Tongue

The tongue is a uniquely complex sensory organ, integrating gustatory, somatosensory, and motor input through the trigeminal (V), facial (VII), glossopharyngeal (IX), vagus (X), and hypoglossal (XII) nerves. Despite decades of anatomical and physiological study, the molecular mechanisms that govern taste organ development, taste bud maintenance and regeneration, and the peripheral encoding of taste stimuli remain incompletely understood.

This Research Topic brings together two complementary perspectives on lingual sensory biology: the developmental and regenerative mechanisms that establish and maintain taste organs, and the receptor-level and neuromodulatory processes that shape how taste is detected and transmitted at the periphery. We aim to advance understanding of how taste buds and papillae form and are renewed across the lifespan, and how taste bud cells respond to and encode chemosensory stimuli, including the influence of hormones and peptide signaling on taste sensitivity.

We welcome original research, reviews, and opinion articles addressing themes including, but not limited to:

Molecular signals driving postnatal and adult taste papillae and taste bud development

Cellular and molecular mechanisms of taste bud renewal and regeneration

Growth factor and signaling pathways maintaining taste organ homeostasis

Functional organization and receptor basis of taste bud cell responses (sweet, bitter, umami, etc.)

Hormonal and peptide (e.g., NPY, PYY) modulation of peripheral taste perception

Structural and functional links between taste bud biology and downstream neural transmission

Altered taste sensitivity in developmental, metabolic, or neurodegenerative conditions

By connecting the developmental biology of the taste organ with the physiology of taste bud signaling, this topic aims to build a more integrated picture of how the tongue senses the chemical world — from formation to function.