Final answer:
The true statement about taste bud preferences is that the hair-like endings of taste buds generate nerve impulses to the brain. Taste buds contain taste receptor cells with microvilli that interact with dissolved food molecules in the saliva to send signals to the brain.
Step-by-step explanation:
Regarding human taste bud preferences, the correct statement from the given options would be:
- d. The hair-like endings of taste buds generate nerve impulses to the brain.
Taste buds are found on the tongue within structures called papillae. These taste buds contain taste receptor cells that have hair-like extensions known as microvilli. These microvilli extend into the taste pore, where they interact with food molecules, also known as tastants, that are dissolved in saliva. When tastants bind to the receptors on the microvilli, they stimulate the taste receptor cells to send neural impulses to the brain via different nerves. Taste receptors are located on fungiform, circumvallate, and foliate papillae across the tongue, excluding the filiform papillae which contain no taste cells.