Senses of Taste and Smell

Introduction: Welcome to one of the most familiar parts, the senses of taste and smell. We are going to examine taste first and then learn how smell effects what you taste.


Taste


The below picture is from http://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au. What I like most about this picture is at the bottom where it shows which parts of the tongue sense different tastes. "Umami" is a Japanese word that encompasses "deliciousness."

~Most limited of the head senses, about five different taste sensations

1. Salty

2. Sweet

3. Bitter

4. Bitter

5. Deliciousness

~Receptors on the tongue respond to chemicals in the food

~Brain surveys the overall pattern of incoming sensory impulses

~Takes a “weighted average” of taste messages and makes it the taste you taste

Smell:

The picture below is from http://freda.auyeung.net. It shows that air passages with the red arrows, as well as where the olfactory nerve is, sinuses, and other important parts.

~Flavor from foods comes mostly from smells

~Protein molecules from what one is smelling works in combination

With neurons in skin of the nose

~The olfactory bulbs have direct connections with the emotion and memory

Centers of the limbic system (why smells remind people of things)

~Smoking and age decline number of olfactory cells

Conclusion: That is it! The two are associated because the smelling works with the skin of th nose. I have always found it fascinating that smells make people think of things and have strong associations. Next, we will explore sight, hearing, and equilibrium.