TASTE

Taste is one of the special senses used

by the brain to distinguish certain aspects
of the natural world ,poisons and
unhealthy foods, specialized chemical
sense
smell contributes strongly to taste
perception (flavour).
 TASTE
The main instrument used to taste is the
tongue, mainly a function of the taste
buds in the mouth.
However, recognition and memory also
plays a role in taste
The Tongue
Taste buds are
organized into four
groups of sensors:
Bitter
Circumvi Sour
lliate
Filliform
Sweet
Folliate

Salty
Fungiform
Fungiform
Taste
Anatomy

Anthony J Greene 5
Microscopic appearance
The tong consists
of approximately
10,000 taste
buds.
Taste Pathways:
on the anterior 2/3
of the tong of the
facial nerve.
the posterior 1/3
of the tongue to the via the
glossopharyngeal N .
Basic Taste Modalities:
A person can perceive hundreds of different
tastes.
They are combinations of the elementary taste
sensations.
four established basic tastes:
sweet, sour, bitter, salt.
all are sensed from all parts of the tongue and
adjacent structures..
Specificity of Taste Buds for a Primary Taste
Stimulus:
Each taste bud usually responds mostly to one
of the four primary taste stimuli when the taste
substance is in low concentration.
But at high concentration, most buds can be
excited by two or more of the primary taste
stimuli
Mechanism of Stimulation of Taste Buds
Receptor Potential:
The membrane of the taste cell is negatively
charged on the inside with respect to the outside.
Application of a taste substance to the taste hairs
causes partial loss of this negative potential-that is,
the taste cell becomes depolarized.
( receptor potential for taste).
Mechanism of Stimulation of Taste Buds
Receptor Potential:
The type of receptor protein in each taste villus
determines the type of taste that will be perceived.
For sodium ions and hydrogen ions, which elicit salty

and sour taste sensations, respectively

the receptor proteins open specific ion channels in the
apical membranes of the taste cells, thereby activating the
receptors.
Taste
Anatomy

Anthony J Greene 12
 The salty taste
is triggered by NaCl.
The main receptor is the ENaC.
the receptors in the oral cavity are inhibited by
amiloride .
The entry of Na+ into the salt receptors
depolarizes them and triggers release of glutamate,
which depolarizes the surrounding afferent neurons.
The sour taste:
is triggered by protons.
The ENaCs permit the entry of protons .
The more acidic the food, the stronger the sour
sensation becomes.
Salt

Sour
sweet taste:

also act via the G protein gustducin.

Sugars& saccharin act via different receptors on
gustducin.
sweet-responsive receptors act via cAMP.
Sweet
 Bitter taste:

is produced by a variety of compounds{poisons} .

serves as a warning to avoid them.
Act either through closure of potassium leak channels
or activation of phospholipase C
Bitter
 Taste Thresholds & Intensity
Discriminations
differences in the intensity of tastes, like intensity
discrimination in olfaction, is relatively crude.
A 30% change in the concentration of the substance
being tasted is necessary before an intensity difference
can be detected.
 Abnormalities
Ageusia :(absence of the sense of taste).
Hypogeusia: (diminished taste sensitivity).
Hypergeusia in patients with adrenal insuffiency
Dysgeusia: (disturbed sense of taste).
- drugs such as captopril cause temporary loss of

taste sensation.
Physiology of Smell
and Taste

P
introduction :
The olfactory receptors are :-
Chemoreceptors , rapidly adapting receptors and
distance receptors (teleceptors)
stimulated by molecules in solution in mucus in the
nose .
found in the mucosa of superior portion of the nasal
cavity.
 Olfactory Mucous Membrane
The olfactory receptor cells are located in a specialized
portion of the nasal mucosa, the yellowish pigmented
olfactory mucous membrane.

In dogs and other animals in which the sense of smell is

highly developed (macrosmatic animals), the area
covered by this membrane is large
Each olfactory receptor is a neuron, and the
olfactory mucous membrane is said to be the place in
the body where the nervous system is closest to the
external world.

Each neuron has a short, thick dendrite with an

expanded end called an olfactory rod
Olfactory Transduction Process
Odorant Odorant Na+
binding
chemical
protein

Inactive Active

ATP Na+ influx

Adenylate causes
cyclase depolarization
cAMP

Depolarization of olfactory
receptor cell membrane
triggers action potentials in
axon of receptor
Cytoplasm
Figure 15.4
 Olfactory Thresholds & Discrimination

Olfactory receptors respond only to substances that

are in contact with the olfactory epithelium and are
dissolved in the thin layer of mucus that covers

Olfactory thresholds increase with advancing age,

and more than 75% of humans over the age of 80
have an impaired ability to identify smells.
 olfactory discrimination is remarkable; for
example, humans can recognize more than 10,000
different odors.

The concentration of an odor-producing substance

must be changed by about 30% before a difference
can be detected. .
 The direction from which a smell comes may be

indicated by the slight difference in the time of arrival

of odoriferous molecules in the two nostrils.

The portion of the nasal cavity containing the

olfactory receptors is poorly ventilated in humans.

Most of the air normally moves smoothly over the

turbinates with each respiratory cycl
Sniffing
The amount of air reaching this region is greatly increased
by sniffing, an action that includes contraction of the lower
part of the nares on the septum, deflecting the airstream
upward.

Sniffing is a semi-reflex response that usually occurs when

a new odor attracts attention.
Smell disorders:
anosmia (absence of the sense of smell)
It can be either temporary or permanent
A temporary loss of smell can be caused by a stuffy
nose or infection.
a permanent loss of smell may be caused by death
of olfactory receptor neurons in the nose, damage to
the olfactory brain areas that process smell.
 hyposmia :reduce ability to smell

dysosmia :
- distortion sense of smell ( i.e. odors smell different)

- Causes include sinusitis, mouth infections, viral hepatitis

Hypersomnia:
-is higher sense of smell

- causes pregnancy and psychological disorders ( hysteria)

 Also it can be bilateral or unilateral
Bilateral anosmia :- caused by common cold (
inflammed and congested mucosa)
Unilateral anosmia should be taken seriously as the
problem might be in the centers especially frontal lobe
e.g. frontal lobe meningioma
Loss of smell can be dangerous because it hinders the
detection of gas leaks, fire, body odor, and spoiled
food.
Anosmia may be an early sign of degenerative brain
diseases such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's
disease
Anosmia associated with hypogonadism (Kallmann's
syndrome).
Olfaction
The
sense of
smell
Basic neural circuits in
the olfactory bulb. Note
that olfactory receptor
cells with one type of
odorant receptor project
to one olfactory
glomerulus (OG) and
olfactory receptor cells
with another type of
receptor project to a
different olfactory
glomerulus. CP,
cribriform plate; PG,
periglomerular cell; M,
mitral cell; T, tufted cell;
Gr, granule cell
 Olfactory Cortex
The axons of the mitral and tufted cells pass posteriorly
through the intermediate olfactory stria and the lateral
olfactory stria to the olfactory cortex.
The axons terminate on the apical dendrites of pyramidal cells
in the olfactory cortex.
In humans, sniffing activates the piriform cortex, but smells
with or without sniffing activate the lateral and anterior
orbitofrontal gyri of the frontal lobe.
The orbitofrontal activation is generally greater on the right
side than the left. Thus, the cortical representation of olfaction
is asymmetric.
Other fibers project to the amygdala, which is probably
involved with the emotional responses to olfactory stimuli, and
to the entorhinal cortex, which is concerned with olfactory
memories.
 Physiology of olfaction
Molecules of substances to be smelled dissolve in the
mucous layer overlying the olfactory epithelium and
combine with receptors on the cilia of the olfactory rods
The receptor cell stimulated by means of a specific G
protein (Golf)
Adenylate cyclase is activated , increasing the
intracellular cAMP
cAMP causes opening of Na channels and an influx of
Na, this followed by a receptor potential
The receptor potential depolarizes the first segment of the
axon, which lead to AP in the olfactory pathways