Chp 5.5: Taste, Smell, Touch Flashcards
Gustation
Taste
Olfaction
Smell
taste buds (4)
-the receptors for taste in the tongue and in the roof and back of the mouth that are sensitive to the qualities of sweet, sour, salty, and bitter
- taste buds will maximally respond to one or two qualities
- Weakly respond to all taste qualities
- “Umami” – modulator of taste, also separate qualia?
Sensory Transduction in Taste (4)
- Hair-like structures project into the taste pore
- Chemicals from food mix with saliva
- Enter taste pore
- Stimulate the receptor cells
Adaptive significance in taste (3)
- Primary window into the chemical composition of what we ingest
- Seek out tastes that have caloric / nutritive value
- Avoid tastes that may be indicative of toxins/harmful substances
olfactory bulb
a forebrain structure immediately above the nasal cavity
pheromones
chemical signals found in natural body scents
Tactile Senses (3)
At least four kinds of tactile sensations
•Pressure / vibration / texture
•Pain (nociceptors)
•Temperature (thermoreceptors)
Touch information transduced by receptors in skin and ultimately sent to ________ ____
somatosensory cortex
Pain Perception
Free nerve endings respond to extreme stimulation (mechanical/temperature/chemical)
Gate control theory (3)
- perceptual experience of pain results from opening/closing of nervous system “gates”
- Other sensory input can alter how these gates operate
- Descending projections from the brain can also control the flow of pain information
Endorphins
- Natural opiates internally produced
- Endorphins exert painkilling effects by inhibiting the release of neurotransmitters involved in the synaptic transmission of pain impulses from the spinal cord to the brain
Kinesthesis
-the perception of body movements
•Feedback about muscles and joint positions
•Receptors = nerve endings in muscles, joints, tendons
Vestibular sense
- The sense of body orientation or equilibrium
- Semicircular canals in the inner ear
- Responds to acceleration/deceleration
