olfaction- response to odorants Flashcards
1
Q
chemical sensation
A
oldest and most common sensory system
2
Q
olfaction
A
the sense of smell
3
Q
chemosensory system
A
processes information about the identity, concentration and quality of a wide range of odorants
4
Q
odorant
A
an airborne chemical stimuli
5
Q
odor
A
a general smell sensation produced by a chemical stimulus
6
Q
in order to be smelled a molecule must be:
A
- volatile
- small enough to bind
- hydrophobic
- have a molecular receptor that will detect it
7
Q
olfactory epithelium
A
a secretory mucosa in the human nose that detects odorants in the inhaled air
8
Q
3 cells in the epithelia sheet
A
- supporting (sustentacular cells)
- basal cells
- olfactory sensory neurons (ONS)
9
Q
supporting (sustentacular cells)
A
provides metabolic and physical support for the olfactory sensory neurons
10
Q
basal cells
A
precursor cells to olfactory sensory neurons
11
Q
ONS
A
- main cell type in olfactory epithelium
- olfactory receptor cells
- small bipolar cells( 1 axon, 1 dendrite) beneath the olfactory mucosa lining the epithelium
- thinnest and slowest axons in body
12
Q
mechanisms that help maintain integrity of olfactory epithelium
A
- olfactory mucosa traps and neutralizes some potentially harmful agents
- degeneration/ regeneration of OSNs
13
Q
olfactory cilia
A
- dendritic branches of OSNs
- where odorant molecules bind
- receptor potentials are generated here
14
Q
olfactory receptors
A
- g- protein coupled receptors with extracellular odorant binding sites
- largest known single gene family (3-5%)
- 60% of olfactory receptor genes are pseudogenes
