Question

Three-year-old-Joshua spits out his broccoli, scrunches his face and shouts, "Yuck!" His mother can’t understand why he has such a distaste for broccoli, because she finds it to be rather bland. Why might Joshua and his mother have such different reactions to the taste of broccoli?​

a. ​As we get older, the overall number of taste buds decreases.
b. ​The orbitofrontal cortex loses a significant number of neurons as we age.
c. ​Myelinated axons connecting to the medulla become unmyelinated as we age.
d. ​Hyperstimulation of taste buds in young children may produce the sensation of burning.

Answer 1

As we get older the number of taste buds decreases.

Step-by-step explanation:

Gustatory cells or the taste buds contains the different sensory cells on the tongue. The papillae consists of all the taste receptors. The sweet, bitter, salty, umami and sour tastes are recognized by the receptors.

The different individuals have different taste because of the presence of the different taste buds. The number of the taste buds decreases the individual gets older. The children has more taste buds and can easily understand the taste of different things. Hence, Joshua dislikes the broccoli taste.

Thus, the correct answer is option (a).