Schematic drawing of the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves

3D visualization of the anatomical structures related to taste reconstructed from scanned human data. Specialized nerves innervate the surface of the tongue and carry electrical nerve impulses to the cerebral cortex (the outermost surface of the brain) where the sense of taste is perceived. The facial Nerve (Cranial nerve VII) senses taste from the anterior 2/3 of the tongue, and the glossopharyngeal nerve (Cranial Nerve IX) senses taste from the posterior 1/3 and pharynx.

Cranial Nerves

Parasympathetic Innervation

Antidepressants and depression: Antidepressant medications are commonly used to treat clinical depression. With the introduction of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and later the serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), the estimated proportion of people in the United States with depressive disorders who received an antidepressant medication as part of their treatment program increased dramatically from 37% in 1987 to 75% in 1997. Antidepressants are prescribed by health care professionals. This can be your primary care physician or a psychiatrist, a physician who specializes in mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders. It is important to communicate with your doctor and monitor the effects of your medication. You should never \"go it alone\" when taking antidepressants. In the right setting, antidepressants can treat depression and may even help reverse some of the biological changes that occur with this illness. Recent studies have found that some antidepressants increase BDNF in the brain.2,3 BDNF is responsible for protecting neurons and stimulating the growth of new neurons - processes that are impaired when clinical depression strikes. For some patients, effective treatment can literally be life-saving. There are several different general \"classes\" of antidepressant medications. We will briefly describe each.

The human brain contains 12 cranial nerves that receive sensory input and control motor output for the head and neck.