C3. P7 Flashcards
What is chemoreception?
Chemicals bind to olfactory receptors and transduce them into a neural signal
What are odorants?
Molecules containing information about scent
What are olfactory receptors?
They detect and respond to odorant that bind to them
Where do olfactory receptors originate?
Olfactory bulbs
What do olfactory bulbs contain?
Mitral cells that synapse with the olfactory receptors
What is the olfactory nerve?
The cranial nerve responsible for carrying information about smell to the brain
Which cranial nerve is the shortest?
Olfactory nerve
What is the only cranial nerve that can repair itself?
Olfactory nerve
Where does the olfactory nerve send information first?
Primary olfactory cortex
Where is the POC located?
The temporal and frontal lobe
What happens when odorants bind to olfactory receptors?
The receptors fire a signal to the dendrites of sensory neurons in the olfactory bulb
How many odors can humans detect?
10,000
How do we recognize scents?
The pattern of receptors that are activated
Are women or men better at converting smells to words?
Women
Which sense has the greatest impact on our recollection of memories?
Smell
Why does smell have the greatest impact on memory?
There are direct connections to the limbic regions which play a role in formation of emotionally-laden memories
Are humans born with the ability to differentiate every smell?
No, it acquires through lived experiences
What has been shown to impact detection of odors?
Culture
What is anosmia?
Loss of smell, which can also affect taste
What can cause anosmia?
Infection, lesions in POC, damage to olfactory bulbs
How is flavor a combination of taste, smell, and texture?
Bottom up processes integrates taste, smell. and texture. Top down processes make expectations
What is chemoreception?
Small particles passing over the tongue entering taste buds and binding with gustatory receptors
Where are taste buds?
Tongue, cheek, and upper esophagus
Where are gustatory receptors?
in taste buds
Do taste buds detect taste themselves?
No
When do taste buds regenerate?
Every 10 days
How do molecules become small for the taste buds?
Saliva dissolves small molecules of food
Are there different kind of receptors, like sweet and sour?
Yes
How do we determine conscious tatse?
Pattern of receptor activity
What nerves does the tongue send to the brain about taste?
Cranial nerves
What is the primary gustatory cortex?
Undefined location in brain which processes taste
Where might the PGC be?
Association areas within the frontal lobe and brain
What is the cranial trigeminal nerve?
nerve where information about texture, touch, temperature, and pain travel from the tongue to brain
What are the five taste sensations?
Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami
When do umami receptors fire?
In response to meaty-savory flavors
Where are some association areas?
Frontal cortex
Can the gustatory system change the nervous system?
Experience can alter and change our biology of expectation
Who did the taste-test brand study?
McClure
What is the taste-test brand study?
When given a pop with better flavor, people’s brains would light up. When given a different type of pop and the name of it (coke) there was considerable more activity
