Post mid-2 Flashcards
(201 cards)
The primary function of the chemical senses (taste and smell) is as ___ of the body. They identify things that should be consumed for survival, check if it is safe to breathe/swallow something. They have high ‘___’ rates for receptors (lots of ___), every 5-7 weeks for ___ receptors and 1-2 for ___ receptors
The primary function of the chemical senses (taste and smell) is as “gatekeepers” of the body. They identify things that should be consumed for survival, check if it is safe to breathe/swallow something. They have high ‘turnover’ rates for receptors (lots of neurogenesis), every 5-7 weeks for olfactory receptors and 1-2 for taste receptors
The 5 basic taste qualities are ..
1) Salty
2) Sour
3) Sweet
4) Bitter
5) Umami- described as meaty, brothy or savoury, associated with MSG
The taste into 5 basic qualities that can be mixed to create new combinations e.g. sweet and sour chicken is similar to …
colours that are broken down into 3 cones but can be mixed to give rise to new colours
Sweetness is associated with substances that have ___ ___ ____. Sweet compounds cause an ___ ___ response and also trigger ___ ___ responses that prepare the GI system for processing these substances.
Sweetness is associated with substances that have high nutritional value. Sweet compounds cause an automatic acceptance response and also trigger anticipatory metabolic responses that prepare the GI system for processing these substances.
Bitterness is associated with substances that are potentially ___ e.g. ___. Bitterness trigger ___ ___ responses to help the organism ___ ___ substances.
Bitterness is associated with substances that are potentially harmful e.g. toxins, poisons. Bitterness trigger automatic rejection responses to help the organism avoid harmful substances.
Salty taste indicates the presence of ___ (which are bodies need)
Salty taste indicates the presence of sodium (which are bodies need)
Though there are various examples of links between ___ ___ and a ____ ___ e.g. anticipatory metabolic responses when consuming sweet things, seeking out salty foods after being deprived/depleted, etc.
Some of these can be ___, with no perfect connections between tastes and function of substances
Though there are various examples of links between taste quality and a substance’s effect e.g. anticipatory metabolic responses when consuming sweet things, seeking out salty foods after being deprived/depleted, etc.
Some of these can be generalizations, with no perfect connections between tastes and function of substances
Our tongue contains ___ different kinds of papillae each of which contain __ __ (approx. 10,000 in total). Each __ __ consists of 50-100 __ __. The tips of these __ __ are where __ occurs (when chemicals contact their receptor sites)
Our tongue contains 4 different kinds of papillae each of which contain taste buds (approx. 10,000 in total). Each taste bud consists of 50-100 taste cells. The tips of these taste cells are where transduction occurs (when chemicals contact their receptor sites)
Tongue
the receptor sheet for taste. Contains papillae, taste buds, taste cells, receptor sites
Papillae
the structures that give the tongue is rough appearance. There are 4 kinds, each with a different shape
Taste buds
contained on the papillae, expect for the filiform papillae (Central part of tongue) which contain no taste buds- therefore must stimulate back or perimeter of tongue to result in broad range of taste sensations. There are about 10,000 taste buds.
Taste cells
cells that make up a taste bud . There are a number of cells for each bud, and the tip of each one sticks out into a taste pore. One or more nerve fibres are associated with each cells
Receptor sites
sites located on the tips of the taste cells. There are different types of sites for different chemicals. Chemicals contacting the sites cause transduction by affecting ion flow across the membrane of the taste cell
Signals from ___ __ travel along 1 of 4 nerves, which synapse with the ___ of the ___ ___ in the brain stem. They then travel to the ___, followed by areas in the __ ___ considered to be the primary receiving area for taste: ___ and ____ ___
Signals from taste cells travel along 1 of 4 nerves, which synapse with the nucleus of the solitary tract in the brain stem. They then travel to the thalamus, followed by areas in the frontal lobe considered to be the primary receiving area for taste: insula and frontal operculum
What the recordings from the chorda tympani nerve when different taste stimuli were presented to rats showed.. i.e. Erikson’s experiment
Across-fibre patterns: where there was relatively similar patterns of activation between NH4Cl and KCl (chemicals that taste similar) but different from NaCl
The results were taken as evidence for population coding. That because population coding was responsible for taste perception, taste aversion learned for KCl should generalize to NH4Cl
Evidence for specificity coding in taste
Experiment by Mueller et al. where genetic cloning was used to add PTC receptor (human bitter receptor) to see how it affected behavior.
Normal mice do not have the receptor to detect PTC, and do not avoid PTC. The mice bred with a PTC receptor avoided PTC.
Also a similar result when breeding mice that lacked the Cyx receptor (they no longer avoid Cyx, as they otherwise typically would), and no longer produced a response in nerve fibres processing signals from the tongue. Therefore, when the taste receptor for a substance is eliminated, this is reflected in both nerve firing and the animal’s behavior
Is the neural code for taste quality population coding, specificity coding or both?
Evidence exists for both specificity and population coding in taste but balance is shifting toward specificity
There are different responses to phenylthiocarbamide (___) and to 6-n-propylthiouracil (__), about ___ of people can’t perceive the taste of these compounds i.e. missing receptors to detect __/___
There are different responses to phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and to 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP), about 1/3 of people can’t perceive the taste of these compounds i.e. missing receptors to detect PTC/PROP
Tasters vs nontasters
- tasters have more taste buds than nontasters
- tasters also have specialized receptors for PROP/PTC that nontasters lack
Nontasters can be compared to ___ from back in the vision unit
dichromat
Supertasters
picky eaters that are more sensitive/lower threshold to bitter substances than tasters. This may be evolutionary advantageous
Many animals are macrosmatic meaning they..
have a keen sense of smell necessary for survival e.g. dogs
Humans are microsmatic meaning …
we have a less keen sense of smell that is not crucial to survival
Macrosmatic animals communicate through phermones which are …
molecules emitted by members of a species that results in a specific reaction in, or communication with, another individual of the same species