Postexcitatory Depression of Gustatory Receptors

Abstract

Abstract It was observed that when the same sapid solution was applied two or more times to the tongue of the cat, the first exposure depressed following responses although the tongue was continuously rinsed with water between the periods of stimulation. This depression vanished gradually but was noticeable after some substances even after one min of water rinse. The time course of the depression depended on the chemical and its concentration, but seemed to be unaffected a) by changes in temperature (27–40°C), b) by the duration of stimulation (3–10 sec) and c) the flow rates of the water rinse (1.7–5 ml/sec).