Taste & Smell Pre-lab

1. Taste & Smell Pre-lab Web questions

2. 1.How many odors can the olfactory system recognize? • The smell, or olfactory system can distinguish thousands of odors.

3. 2.Where is the olfactory lining located? • In the nose

4. 3.How does the olfactory bulb interpret different odors? • In the olfactory bulb, information from the receptors are organized into patterns that the brain may interpret as different odors.

5. 4.Which system senses and processes odors? • The olfactory system, which senses and processes odors (in the brain/nervous system), is one of the oldest and most vital parts of the brain. • FYI: • For most animals, it is the primary mode of communication and influences many important functions, including reproduction and taste. Scientists are just beginning to learn how the olfactory system works.

6. 5.We know the nose is used for sense of smell. How does it work? • The nose contains specialized sensory nerve cells, or neurons, with hairlike fibers called clilia on one end.

7. 6.Where does olfactory information travel? • Each neuron sends a nerve fiber called an axon to the olfactory bulb, a brain structure just above the nose.

8. 7.How do we detect flavor? • Olfactory information travels not only to the limbic system -- primitive brain structures that govern emotions, behavior, and memory storage -- but also to the brain's cortex, or outer layer, where conscious thought occurs. In addition, it combines with taste information in the brain to create the sensation of flavor.

9. 8.Describe the path odor molecules take from inhalation to behavior. • Odor molecules entering the nose are thought to be recognized by receptors found in cilia of olfactory neurons. • Neurons with specific receptors are arranged randomly within zones in the olfactory lining of the nasal cavity. • Signals from neurons with the same receptors converge on structures called glomeruli in the olfactory bulb. • The pattern of activity in these glomeruli creates a pattern or code that the brain may interpret as different odors. • The information is carried by nerve fibers to many brain regions, where it affects thoughts, emotions, and behavior.

10. Sense of SmellWeb Questions

11. 1. The sense of smell plays a vital role in our sense of _____ and quality of _____. well-being life

12. smell 2. No two people _____ the same odor the _____ way. Everyone has his or her own unique odor-identity or “smell fingerprint. same

13. 3. The average human being is able to recognize approximately _____ different odors. 10,000

14. 4. Our sense of _____ is greatly influenced by our sense of smell. taste

15. 5. Our sense of smell in responsible for about _____% of what we taste. 80

16. 6. Without our sense of smell, our sense of taste is limited to only _____distinct sensations: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and the newly discovered “umami” or savory sensation. five

17. 7. All other _____ that we experience come from smell. flavors

18. 8. When our nose is blocked, as by a cold, most foods seem _____or __________. bland tasteless

19. 9. Our sense of smell becomes _____ when we are hungry stronger

20. 10. A larger portion of the brains of animals (and fish) are devoted to the sense of _____ than that of humans. smell

21. 11. Your nose can smell __________, telling you where an odor originates. directionally

22. 12. Your sense of smell is least acute in the __________; our ability to perceive odors __________ as the day wears on. morning increases

23. 13. A woman’s sense of smell is _____ than a man’s. keener

24. 14. It is important to understand that throughout every day and night of our lives we smell a wide variety of odors without being _____ of them at all. aware

25. 15. People recall smells with _____% accuracy after a year, while the visual recall of photos sinks to about _____% after only three months. 65 50