Leah, Maggie, Quinn, Wesley, Victoria Taste and Smell Leah, Maggie, Quinn, Wesley, Victoria

The Process of Taste Papillae are the tiny bumps on your tongue. Inside the folds of the papillae are tiny taste buds connected to sensory nerves. The taste bud is made of gustatory cells. The message is then processed in sensory cortex of parietal lobe where taste is identified. Microvilli are tiny hairs that sense food particles and by transduction convert the chemicals to electrical message.

Variations of Taste Taste receptors can be damaged by alcohol, smoke, acids, or hot foods possible to grow new ones Supertasters- have more taste buds for bitter flavors; more sensitive to tastes; have a survival advantage b/c most poisons are bitter Nontasters- less sensitive than normal “tasters” to flavors or tastes Taste Preference- what you prefer to taste; can change depending on environment and culture

Taste Disorders Phantom taste perception- a lingering, often unpleasant taste even though you have nothing in your mouth . Hypogeusia- reduced ability to taste sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami. Ageusia- can not detect any tastes. Dysgeusia- foul, salty, rancid, or metallic taste sensation will persist in the mouth. -can be sometime accompanied by a painful burning sensation in the mouth.

Olfaction The sense of smell Odor bonds to receptor Olfactory receptor cells convert to an electrical message through transduction Signal relayed in glomeruli Message sent to sensory cortex

More Olfaction Cilia, or microscopic nose hairs, trap smells in the olfactory epithelium and send them to the brain The olfactory bulb in the forebrain processes the info about the smell The nasal cavity is the hollow space in the skull directly behind the nose This cavity warms and humidifies air, as well as traps particles with scent so they can be smelled

Smell! Sense of smell is the only sensory system that does not pass through the thalamus The temporal lobe also aids in the sense of smell Pheromones are chemical signals released by organisms to communicate with other members of their species; often used by animals for sexual attractants

The use of oils from different plants to calm oneself through smell is aromatherapy Different smells trigger different reactions/emotions in people The hippocampus is involved in the memory of different smells; i.e when a scent reminds someone of their grandma’s house

Smell Disorders Usually a loss in smell, or changes in way you perceive odors. Hyposmia- reduced ability to detect odors. Anosmia- inability to detect odors at all. Some people may sense an odor that isn’t present at all. Both taste and smell receptors are frequently replaced so loss of these senses are rare

Taste vs. Smell Both have hair-like structures that receive particles. Taste is perceived in taste buds. Smell is perceived in the olfactory bulb. Through transduction they convert the chemicals to electrical messages.

Demo 4 types of taste Sour Sweet Salty Bitter Umami (Relatively new taste similar to savory) Sensory Interaction- interaction of the senses; taste and smell works together 80% - 90% of what we perceive as taste is actually smell Ex. Stuffy nose makes things taste dull