Smell & Taste Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the 3 characteristics of ‘smelly’ molecules?

A
  • small
  • volatile
  • hydrophobic
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2
Q

What is the physiology of smell?

A

Odours bind to olfactory cilia which are a part of the olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) which has a single type of odor receptor

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3
Q

What are 2 problems with the shape theory of olfaction?

A
  • Differences in smells between isotopes

- Some molecules smell the same when their shape is changed

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4
Q

How is smell transmitted to the cortex?

A
  • OSN will fire once 8 binding sites are filled
  • Signals sent to the olfactory bulb
  • This has a direct line to the cortex
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5
Q

How can we generate so many smells?

A
  • Only 300 types of receptor

- However, combine to generate pattern of activity in the cortex (entorhinal, piriform cortex)

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6
Q

Does the brain respond to smells that are not received?

A

yes

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7
Q

What is the vomeronasal organ?

A
  • is a parallel olfactory system in many animals

- Contains a separate set of ‘heavy chain’ odorant receptors that bind to pheromones

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8
Q

How is flavour detected?

A

Retronasal olfaction as well as taste (smells coming from behind the palate)

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9
Q

What are the 5 basic tastes?

A
  1. Sweet
  2. Sour
  3. Salt
  4. Bitter
  5. Unami
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10
Q

What are taste buds?

A
  • contains taste receptor cells embedded in papillae

- covey neural signals to the brain via taste nerves and cranial nerves

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11
Q

How are salt and sour detected?

A

Ions enter directly through channels

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12
Q

How are sweet and bitter tastes sensed?

A
  • too big for ions, therefore use G couples proteins
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13
Q

What is the labelled lines theory and why is it important?

A
  • Theory of taste coding in which each taste fibre carries a particular taste quality
  • Can be used to measure neural responses in primates and predict responses in humans
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14
Q

What is unami caused by?

A
  • MSG (glutamate)

- Can be harmful in large doses to certain sensitive individuals

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15
Q

What other factors influence taste?

A
  • Learned aversions
  • Cultural factors
  • Visual perception
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