How does our sense of touch work?

Touch is a sense of physical perception. It gives us details about the shape, size and texture of food.

Touch receptors are known as mechanoreceptors. They transform physical stimuli into electrical impulses that are then transmitted to the brain.

Mechanoreceptors are sensitive to pressure and to contact with food. For example, just touching fruit enables us to perceive the softness of its skin and then, if we apply a little pressure with our fingers, we perceive the maturity of fruit or cheese.

What roles do the mouth and tongue play

Compared to other parts of the body, the mouth and tongue play a significant role in the brain’s perception of tactile information.

Your mouth informs your brain about the shape and size of food, as well as about whether the texture is smooth, grainy, soft or hard.
How we perceive texture is influenced by culture. In some regions of Asia, sticky, glutinous rice is popular, but not in Europe. Argentinians and the Inuit like food that is hard, whereas Mexicans and many Africans prefer food which is soft.