A nice overview of taste and smell, by giving definitions of each and showing the difference in chemical signalling between each sense. It explains the role of gustation and goes into detail about the ligands and receptors involved in the process of taste. It also explains physiological parts of th...
• Detection of environmental chemicals
• Biologically most important function to perceive danger (toxic/spoiled food, fire etc.)
• Both are required to perceive flavour
• But separate and distinct systems with parallel processing pathways which only merge at a high level in the cortex
• Strong and direct connections with basic needs and instincts (thirst, hunger, emotion, sex, memory)
GUSTATION:
• Requires a voluntary action of putting the food in our mouth (an action guided by our senses of vision and
olfaction)
• Tastants (the molecules that we taste) must be soluble in water (saliva)
OLFACTION:
• No voluntary action involved
• Odorants (the molecules that we smell) must have a high vapour pressure (e.g. Tendency to evaporate from
liquid to gas) so that we can inhale them
• Avoiding potentially harmful foodstuffs
i. Bitterness (plant alkaloids)
ii. High salt content or acidity
• Selecting foodstuffs which have a high energy content
i. Sugar
ii. Fat
iii. Alcohol
• Gustation is always the result of the active process of placing the foodstuff in the mouth, following
guidance by other senses
• Specialised organ = taste buds (primarily on tongue)
• Combinations of basic tastes
• Smell
• Texture
• Temperature
• Pain (spicy food)
• The nocirecptor proteins detecting extreme heat and extreme coldness are also responsible for detecting capsaicin (as
in chilli pepper) and menthol, respectively
• Both receptor proteins are expressed widely throughout the body (thus, we can feel the heat of pepper and the
coldness of menthol both inside and outside of our mouth)
Integration of Physiological Systems Page 1
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller kathrynray. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $9.70. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
