Taste Flashcards
taste buds
1) filliform does not have tsate buds
taste receptors
1 )primarily in the taste buds
2) greatest percentage in the upper surface of the tongue
3) gustatory epithelial cells
4) packaged with supporting cells
5) small portion exposed to surface of the tongue through taste pores
- allow fluid in the mouth to come into contact with receptors
taste cell receptor
1) microvilli protrude slightly through the taste pore
2) receptors on the PM bind the chemicals
- specific binding
- chemicals in solution activate it
- ingested liquids or solids dissolved in saliva
life spans of gustatory cells
1) most receptors are sheltered from direct exposure
2) life span 10 days
- basal epithelial cells => supporting cells => gustatory epithelial calls
3) bad burns will get rid of taste in that area
- recovery is quick
general signal transduction
1) tastants (sapids)
- taste provoking chemical
2) taste discrimination coded by patterns of activity in various taste bud receptors
3) five primary tastes
- sours, salty, sweet, bitter, umami
4) tastant => taste receptor => signal cascade => depolarization => voltage gates Ca2+ channel => release NT
salty taste
1) principal stimulus is Na+
- other cations (ammonium, lithium, potassium)
2) anions contribute to taste intensity
- saltiness NaCl > Na2SO4
3) receptor mechanisms is incompletely understood
sour taste
1) sour taste with acids
2) acidophore
- functional group of sour compounds
3) organic acids
- undissociated or partially dissociated acid molecules
4) loose correlation with pH
- lower pH is sour
- exception, HCl is relatively tasteless
umami
1) savory or meaty
2) monosodium glutamate
3) meat, cheeses, tomatoes, mother’s milk
sweet taste
1) prototype = sucrose
- other sugars: monosaccharides, some oligosaccharides (glycose, partially hydrolyzed starch)
2) amino acids
- glycine, alanine, etc
3) peptides and proteins: aspartame
4) alcohols: glycerol, sorbitol, xylitol
5) other synthetic compounds
- artificial sweeteners
6) dilute solutions of simple ions
- NaCl, LiCl, lead
bitter
1) most diverse
- denatonium benzoate (most bitter)
2) generally adverse taste
gustatory pathway
1) terminal afferent endings of cranial nerves terminate on taste buds in the mouth
- signals are conveyed to gustatory cortex
2) taste also sent to the hypothalamus and limbic system to affect affective dimensions
- weather the taste is pleasant or unpleasant
- to process behavioral aspect associates with taste and smell