GI Physiology: Taste

Question 1

Taste buds are found on the ________ on the surface of the tongue and can range from ______ to ______ columnar cells bundled together.

Answer 1

found on papillae and can range from 50 to 150 cells bundled together

Question 2

What is a supertaster? What is a non-taster?

Answer 2

Supertasters have high numbers of taste buds and things taste more bitter, etc. to them.

Non-tasters are the opposite.

Question 3

How is taste affected as people age?

Answer 3

It diminishes

Question 4

How many major types of papillae are there?

Answer 4

Three

Question 5

What are the five taste sensations?

Answer 5

1. Sweet
2. Umami
3. Salty
4. Sour
5. Bitter

Question 6

Are there regional areas on the tongue that are more/less sensitive to certain taste sensations?

Answer 6

Yeah

Question 7

Explain why humans evolved to have a very low threshold for tasting bitterness in food.

Answer 7

Toxins are bitter, so people that could taste bitter better lived and had kids.

Question 8

Which taste sensations’ signal transduction pathways act through G protein coupled receptors and which ones act by direct depolarization of the taste bud?

Answer 8

Sweet, umami, and bitter sensations act through G-protein coupled receptors.

Na+ (salty) and H+ (sour) act by depolarizing the membrane directly.