Taste

Question 1

What are taste receptors?

Answer 1

Receptor cells that detect only one of the possible tastes. They release neurotransmitters in a graded fashion.

Question 2

What are the six different categories of taste receptors?

Answer 2

• sweetness
• umami
• bitterness
• saltiness
• sourness
• fat

Question 3

What do the sugar receptors detect?

Answer 3

The presence of sugar molecules

Question 4

What is the structure of sugar receptors?

Answer 4

single metabotropic receptors

Question 5

What is detected by umami taste receptors?

Answer 5

Glutamate/glutamine

Question 6

What is the structure of an umami taste receptor?

Answer 6

Single metabotropic receptor

Question 7

What is detected by bitterness taste receptors?

Answer 7

a variety of molecules, mostly those found in toxins

Question 8

What is the structure of bitterness taste receptors?

Answer 8

• metabotropic receptors
• 50 different types

Question 9

What taste receptors are naturally pleasurable?

Answer 9

• sweetness
• umami

Question 10

What taste receptors are naturally aversive?

Answer 10

bitterness

Question 11

What do saltiness taste receptors detect?

Answer 11

positive ions

Question 12

What is the structure of saltiness taste receptors?

Answer 12

ion channel that is highly permeable to sodium

Question 13

What do sourness taste receptors detect?

Answer 13

pH level

Question 14

What is the structure of the sourness taste receptors?

Answer 14

ion channels that are highly permeable to free protons

Question 15

What else is detected by the sourness taste receptors?

Answer 15

• carbonation
• astringency

Question 16

What is detected by fat taste receptors?

Answer 16

fatty acids

Question 17

What is the structure of fat taste receptors?

Answer 17

metabotropic receptors and fatty acid transporters

Question 18

What happens when a tasted molecule binds to a taste receptor protein?

Answer 18

• change in membrane potential

Question 19

What are taste buds?

Answer 19

• cluster of 20 to 50 receptor cells OF THE SAME TYPE

Question 20

How many different tastes are detected by taste buds?

Answer 20

one

Question 21

how do taste receptor cells transfer information?

Answer 21

graded neurotransmitter release

Question 22

how frequently are taste receptor cells replaced?

Answer 22

every ten days

Question 23

Where are situated the taste buds?

Answer 23

in the grooves of the tongue (many different types of taste buds in one groove)

Question 24

What determines the fact that a taste is pleasant or not?

Answer 24

The taste bud, not the taste receptor cell

Question 25

How do animals come to appreciate bitter tastes?

Answer 25

• through acquired taste
• can only be mild bitterness

Question 26

Why are bitter taste buds aversive?

Answer 26

Bitter tastes are associated with toxins

Question 27

Are the sour/fat/salt taste receptors aversive or reinforcing?

Answer 27

• depends on the concentration
• learned taste

Question 28

Where is the gustatory information processed?

Answer 28

In the primary gustatory cortex

Question 29

How is the primary gustatory cortex organized?

Answer 29

Depends from person to person

Question 30

Where is the primary gustatory cortex situated?

Answer 30

insula lobe of the cerebral cortex

Question 31

What is particular of the gustatory capacities of the the cat family?

Answer 31

Cannot taste sugar