Gustatory and Olfactory Receptors and Pathways Flashcards
What are the three types of papillae which contain taste buds? The one that is used for friction?
- Fungiform - mushroom shaped ~4 buds
- Vallate - moat-shaped
- Foliate - folds on side of tongue
Friction - filiform
What are the four cell types of the taste bud and what do they do?
- Parietal cells - give rise to sustentacular + basal cells
- Basal cells - give rise to gustatory cells
- Gustatory cells - chemoreceptor cells on apical membrane
- Sustentacular cells - supporting cells
Why do old people lose their sense of taste?
Lose taste buds throughout life at a rate of 1% per year
What types of synapses do nerve fibers make with gustatory cells?
Chemical synapses
What type of receptor does each taste sense use?
Sweet - GPCR Sour - ionic Salty - ionic Bitter - GPCR Umami - GPCR
What nerve innervates the taste buds on the epiglottis?
CNX
What are the relevant ganglia for taste perception? Where do their roots enter?
Anterior 2/3 - Geniculate ganglion of 7 - cerebellopontine angle
Posterior 1/3 - Petrosal ganglion of 9 - postolivary sulcus, rostral medulla
Epiglottis - Nodose ganglion of 10 - postolivary sulcus, mid medulla
What is the gustatory nucleus?
Rostral 1/2 of solitary nucleus, where 7, 9, 10 central processes synapse for taste.
What are the reflex pathways for gustation?
Rostral solitary nucleus gives second order taste fibers which synapse bilaterally to inferior salivatory nucleus and superior salivatory nucleus.
What is the superior salivatory nucleus?
Nucleus which controls salivation for submandibular, sublingual, and lacrimal glands
What is the inferior salivatory nucleus?
Nucleus receiving bilateral contributions for salivation from the parotid gland
What is the course of the second order neurons of the taste pathway?
Ascend from the rostral solitary nucleus through the central tegmental tract to the most medial part of the VPM thalamus, where they synapse on tertiary taste neurons
What is the course of the third order neurons of the taste pathway?
Axons from VPM thalamus go through internal capsule + corona radiata. There are two primary cortical taste centers.
- Parietal operculum - ventral aspect of postcentral gyrus
- Anterior portion of insular cortex
Where does crude awareness of taste vs fine discrimination occur?
Crude awareness = thalamus
Discrimination = cortical levels
What is the general function of the insular cortex for olfaction and taste?
It is the place where both oolfactory and taste sensation are integrated