Chemosensation 2 Flashcards
List the 5 primary taste qualities and for each indicate whether sensory transduction involves ion channels or G-protein coupled receptors
- Salty or Sour: ion channels (since are ionic stimuli).
2. Sweet, bitter, umami (glutamate): metabotropic receptors, G protein linked (more complex stimuli).
All taste buds in the pharynx, extreme posterior tongue, esophagus, and epiglottis are innervated by
vagus nerve
3 types of gustatory papillae
- Fungiform papillae
- Foliate papillae
- Circumvallate papllae
Fungiform papillae:
- located in the anterior end of the tongue
2. innervated by the facial nerve.
Foliate papillae:
- on the side of the tongue
2. innervated by the facial nerve.
Circumvallate papillae
- located at the posterior end of the tongue
2. innervated by the glossopharyngeal nerve.
Central taste pathway:
- primary afferents from tongue run in the facial, glossopharyngeal, and vagus nerves.
- When axons enter the CNS they synapse on second order neurons in the rostral area of the ipsilateral Nucleus of the solitary tract (NST).
NST
organized orotopically in the medulla. There is a map of the oral cavity on the nucleus so anterior parts of mouth are anterior in the nucleus.
Taste Lemnsicus:
- 2nd order cells (in rostral portions of NST) send axons bilaterally to the medial part of the ventrobasal thalamus
- The thalamic neurons then send their axons in to insular cortex.
Conscious appreciation of taste:
from pathway to insular cortex
Orbitofrontal cortex:
where integration of taste and smell leads to perception of FLAVOR!!!
Secondary gustatory cortex is located
in the orbitofrtonal surface
Secondary gustatory cortex receives projections from
- the primary gustatory area located on the interior insula
2. olfactory insula areas.
Subconscious taste pathways:
NST also relays taste info to hypothalamus and amygdala for food intake regulation and visceral reactions to ingested foods.
NST has reflex connections to
nuclei in the brainstem for
- gagging (nuc ambiguous),
- swallowing (nuc ambigusus, hypoglossal nuc.)
- salivation (sup and inf salivatory nuc).