Final answer:
The tongue can perceive touch and taste. It can sense pressure, vibration, temperature, and pain through various receptors. It can also detect five basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami.
Step-by-step explanation:
The tongue is capable of perceiving various basic sensations, including touch and taste. In terms of touch, the tongue can sense pressure, vibration, temperature, and pain through mechanoreceptors, thermoreceptors, and nociceptors. When it comes to taste, the tongue can detect five basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami. These tastes are sensed by specialized gustatory receptor cells in the taste buds on the tongue. These receptor cells send signals to sensory neurons, which then transmit the information to the brain for processing.