Question

a. Describe in detail how chemoreceptors detect taste and smell. b. Describe in detail the relationship between thermoreceptors and nociceptors?

Answer 1

A)

Both smell and taste use chemoreceptors, which essentially means they are both sensing the chemical environment. This chemoreception in regards to taste, occurs via the presence of specialized taste receptors within the mouth that are referred to as taste cells and are bundled together to form taste buds. These taste buds, located in papillae which are found across the tongue, are specific for the five modalities: salt, sweet, sour, bitter and umami. These receptors are activated when their specific stimulus (i.e. sweet or salt molecules) is present and signals to the brain.

In addition to the activation of the taste receptors, there are similar receptors within the nose that coordinates with activation of the taste receptors. When you eat something, you can tell the difference between sweet and bitter. It is the sense of smell that is used to distinguish the difference. Although humans commonly distinguish taste as one sense and smell as another, they work together to create the perception of flavor.

B)Nociceptors and thermoreceptors do not send axons up the dorsal columns. Instead, these receptors synapse on interneurons within the spinal cord that immediately send axons across the cord to the opposite side, where they ascend in the anterolateral tract, or the ventrolateral tract.