Extended Version

Morality, The Gustatory (Taste) System, the Brain and Evolution

fuckyeahneuroscience:

(submitted by somcbean, thanks!)

[Warning: This post graphically depicts mortality after the cut]

Imagine you are any mammal on earth. You pick up an apple and take a bite, but it is rotten and putrid and tastes absolutely morbid - it is officially the most horrendous thing you have ever had the misfortune of putting into your mouth.

In the process of spitting it out a part of your brain called the Insular Cortex is activated which is heavily involved in gustatory (taste related) processes: it essentially tells you that what you just tasted was awful. This part of your brain also activates if you smell something disgusting. Unique to humans, it also activates if we merely think about eating something that our culture or personal belief system would find gustatorily disgusting.

Read More

This is fascinating.