The Other Senses

1. TheOther Senses Taste, Smell, Touch, and Others

2. Taste • Taste cells are chemical-sensitive receptors located in taste bud clusters • Located on tongue, in throat, and on soft palate • For a stimulus to be tasted, it must be dissolved

3. Taste • Receptors are sensitive to five basic taste qualities: • Sweetness • Saltiness • Sourness • Bitterness • Umami • Discovered in 2009

4. Taste • Other influences on taste: • Smell • Touch • Temperature • It is possible to demonstrate how the flavor of food can be changed by the food’s texture or smell • Jellybean experiment

5. Taste Map? • Appears in high school textbooks • Science shows map is incorrect • Receptors for basic tastes are found in distinct cells not confined to any specific region http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/health/11real.html?_r=0

6. Smell • Receptors for smell located on a thin membrane found in the upper nasal cavity. • Stimulated by gasses dissolved in the fluid covering the membrane • For a stimulus to be smelled, it must be dissolved • Carry information to the prefrontal cortex

7. Smell • Odors can evoke highly emotional memories. • On average, women detect odors more readily than men. • Brain responses to odor are also stronger • Humans capable of discriminating the gender of sweaty shirts and even breath odor. • Commercial fragrances? Not so much.

8. Pheromones • Airborne molecules that elicit a reaction in the same species

9. Sneezing • Your body’s way of removing irritation from the nose. • Nose gets a “tickle”  sends message to special part of brain called the sneeze center. • Sneeze center sends message to multiple muscles to work together to remove irritation. • Abs, pecs, diaphragm, vocal cord, throat muscles, eyelid muscles. • Particles leave nose at ~100mph http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/sneeze.html

10. Sneeze in the sun? • You’re a photicsneezer! • 1 out of every 3 people sneeze when exposed to bright light • Inherited trait Achoo. Gesundheit.

11. Somosthesis—The Mechanical Senses