Sensation & Perception Lecture 4

Sensing Chemicals and Temperature

Sensory Transduction
Transforming physical information into neural signals. Four types of receptors in humans: 1. Photoreceptors sense light 2. Mechanoreceptors sense mechanical pressure 3. Chemoreceptors sense molecules 4. Thermoreceptors sense temperature

Chemoreceptors
Function like a lock and key: specific classes of receptors are sensitive to specific molecule types. Found in:
a) tongue (gustation) b) nasal epithelium (olfaction) c) other locations in the body (lungs, stomach)

The tongue (gustation)

Each of the papillae on the tongue contains multiple taste buds Each taste bud contains multiple chemoreceptors Five (known) receptor types: salty, sweet, bitter, sour, and savory (AKA umami).

PS1009 Perception: Sensory Transduction

What is the relationship between taste receptors and tastants?

Receptor Salty
Sour Bitter Sweet Umami Based on pattern coding, not the firing of one or another receptor type in particular

Signals NaCL (Electrolytes)

Acid (Spoiled/unripe foods?) Toxins, inedible substances Sucrose (Calorie-dense foods) Glutamate (protein-rich food)

Most taste is based on smell

Consensus in recent taste literature is that taste receptors are specific, not graded. Pattern coding (b and c below) is unnecessary and unlikely.

This simple model is also the most accurate

Figure from Chandrashekar, Hoon, Ryba & Zuker, Nature, 2006

Taste preferences
Innate preferences (salty, sweet over bitter, sour) Exposure to amniotic fluid and breast milk (flavor determined by maternal diet) Exposure to flavours over lifespan Genetic variability in taste bud numbers (supertasters, nontasters)

Aguesia: inability to taste

Temporary loss of taste is common. Permanent aguesia is rare. Usually caused by nerve damage or deformity

PS1009 Perception: The Sensory Brain

Nasal epithelium (smell/olfaction)

Inhaling brings odorants to the nasal epithelium Odorants bind to proteins in the cilia of the receptor cells and activate the cell Each cell has only a single receptor type

PS1009 Perception: Sensory Transduction

Axel & Buck, 2004 Nobel prize

There are ~1000 different odorant receptors, each one coded by a different gene Genetic codes for olfaction receptors alone comprise 3% of our genes!

Can we localize smells?

Orthonasal vs. Retronasal clear differences in perception/recognition Left vs. Right nostril arrival times Might be mediated by pain pathways Scent tracking better with two nostrils than one

Pheremones: Odorants to communicate and control conspecific behaviour

Human pheremones?
McClintock effect (controversial) Lots of smell recognition/preference studies (but are these really pheremones?) Pheremone receptor organ in humans is present but probably nonfunctional

Anosmia
Loss of sense of smell Temporary loss due to inflammation / blockage is routine Permanent loss due to range of causes (congenital, head trauma, disease, aging) common (1-2% in young, >12% in elderly)

Chemoreceptors in the body

The aortic and carotid arteries contain CO2 and O2 sensitive chemoreceptors that sample blood leaving the heart and communicate with brain areas that control breathing rate Chemoreceptors in the gastric system cause stomach pain, nausea, vomiting

Sensory Transduction
Transforming physical information into neural signals. Four types of receptors in humans: 1. Photoreceptors sense light 2. Mechanoreceptors sense mechanical pressure 3. Chemoreceptors sense molecules 4. Thermoreceptors sense temperature

Thermoreceptors
At least two types: cold and hot Found in
the skin in the cornea (to trigger blinking) In the brainstem (to regulate core temperature).

Sensing skin temperature

Unmyelinated C-fibers in the skin
Myelin speeds up neural transmission, so unmyelinated nerves are slow takes several seconds to get to the brain

Adaptation of thermoreceptors

Sensory Transduction
Transforming physical information into neural signals. Four types of receptors in humans: 1. Photoreceptors (light) 2. Chemoreceptors (molecules) 3. Mechanoreceptors (mechanical pressure) 4. Thermoreceptors (temperature)

PS1009 Perception: Sensory Transduction

There are more than 5 senses!

Photoreceptors vision Mechanoreceptors hearing, balance, skin pressure, limb position, internal organ sense Chemoreceptors taste, smell, blood oxygen level Thermoreceptors skin, eye, and internal body temperature

Perception comes from the brain

Receptors are distributed and send input to the brain If they did not transmit to the brain, there would be no perception. Does your foot feel warmth? No it comes from the brain!

Getting sensory input to the brain

Vision, audition, and touch all have a similar general architecture Input goes through the thalamus first, and then to specialized areas in the cerebral cortex.

Thalamus

PS1009 Perception: The Sensory Brain

Primary Somatosensory Cortex

Primary Visual Cortex Primary Auditory Cortex

Where are we?

Step 1. Sample information Process Sensory Transduction - light (the eye) - pressure (the ear, skin, etc.) - chemicals (tongue, nose, etc.) - temperature (skin, etc.) 2. Encode / register it Sensory Pathways and Networks - vision - audition & somatosensation 3. Organize, interpret, and use it Perception 4? +5 6 7-12 (Dr Pilz) 2 3 4 4 Lecture