Language as an organ of analysis

Abstract

Evolution has adapted the tongue, besides speaking, to participate in the primary mechanical processing of food, to analyze its content, and to swallow it. The tongue can determine the location of food in the oral cavity in general, and specifically on the tongue surface. Localization and perception of the taste sensation occur with a great topographic accuracy on one or another limited area of the oral cavity or the tongue surface. This ability of the tongue underlies the idea of vision substitution by the tactile image projection. Devices have been proposed and created (so far in limited number) that improve quality of life of the blind and the rehabilitation in movement disorders.