Chemoreception is the detection of chemicals, and it's mediated by chemoreceptors, which are what we'll use for our sense of taste and our sense of smell. These chemoreceptors change their membrane potential when a specific type of compound is present. Gustation is what we call our sense of taste, and this is mediated by taste receptors, which are receptors in the taste buds on the tongue. They'll respond to molecules called tastants that stimulate these taste receptors. And there are going to be different varieties of tastants that correspond to the different flavors we can perceive. Those flavors are salt, sour, sweet, what's called umami, and bitter. The flavor of salt comes from tastants that are electrolytes, specifically sodium. Acids, specifically, hydrogen protons, will result in these, taste sour. Carbohydrates, like glucose, will taste sweet to us. Umami, which is sometimes described as the 5th taste and is actually a Japanese word, comes from proteins and amino acids like glutamate. That's that sort of, you know, taste you get, for example, from eating like a greasy burger or something, that unctuous umami flavor you get from the meat. It's just tasting the proteins in there, really. And bitter is used to identify poisonous compounds. That's why we have that, awful taste of bitter that makes you go blah. Blah. It's, you know, an evolutionary mechanism to hopefully get you to reject poisons based on their taste. Here you can see a taste receptor, or rather a taste bud with taste receptors in it. And this taste bud will be found all over the tongue here. And it's worth noting that salt and sour receptors actually have the same ion channels to detect their taste tense. Interesting to note because they're both looking for ions. Right? Now olfaction is what we call our sense of smell, and this is mediated by olfactory receptors, which are chemoreceptors that bind odorants. Odorants are like tastants for our nose. They're airborne molecules that are smelled. And essentially, these odorants will make their way into our nose where they will bind to olfactory receptors. Now, we have this special part of our brain called the olfactory bulb. In humans, it's not nearly as big as it is, for example, in rodents where it's a massive structure. This is the part of the brain that allows us to process this, smell information. And we actually have these, areas called glomeruli, where olfactory neurons of the same receptor converge. So, here in this figure you can see we have all these different types of receptors along here. Now, you can see that they are all different colors. However, you know, in this model the blue receptors are all going to be picking up the same types of odorants, the red receptors are going to be all picking up the same type of odorants, and the green receptors are all going to respond to the same type of odorants. So even though they're interspersed with each other, they're all going to converge in the different glomeruli up here. And you can see that those have been segregated, based on whether they're blue, red, or green. Now, it's worth noting that we actually, respond to a special class of chemicals secreted to the environment called pheromones. These are, you could almost think of like a very special type of odorant because they're signaling molecules and they'll actually affect the behavior and physiology of individuals in the same species. And we actually have a special part of our olfactory bulb called the vomeronasal organ that is specifically designed to, respond to those pheromones and has pheromone receptors. That's all I have for this lesson guys. Hopefully, now you have a little better understanding of how you see the world. Pun intended. I'm sorry. See you guys next time.
Table of contents
- 1. Introduction to Biology2h 40m
- 2. Chemistry3h 40m
- 3. Water1h 26m
- 4. Biomolecules2h 23m
- 5. Cell Components2h 26m
- 6. The Membrane2h 31m
- 7. Energy and Metabolism2h 0m
- 8. Respiration2h 40m
- 9. Photosynthesis2h 49m
- 10. Cell Signaling59m
- 11. Cell Division2h 47m
- 12. Meiosis2h 0m
- 13. Mendelian Genetics4h 41m
- Introduction to Mendel's Experiments7m
- Genotype vs. Phenotype17m
- Punnett Squares13m
- Mendel's Experiments26m
- Mendel's Laws18m
- Monohybrid Crosses16m
- Test Crosses14m
- Dihybrid Crosses20m
- Punnett Square Probability26m
- Incomplete Dominance vs. Codominance20m
- Epistasis7m
- Non-Mendelian Genetics12m
- Pedigrees6m
- Autosomal Inheritance21m
- Sex-Linked Inheritance43m
- X-Inactivation9m
- 14. DNA Synthesis2h 27m
- 15. Gene Expression3h 20m
- 16. Regulation of Expression3h 31m
- Introduction to Regulation of Gene Expression13m
- Prokaryotic Gene Regulation via Operons27m
- The Lac Operon21m
- Glucose's Impact on Lac Operon25m
- The Trp Operon20m
- Review of the Lac Operon & Trp Operon11m
- Introduction to Eukaryotic Gene Regulation9m
- Eukaryotic Chromatin Modifications16m
- Eukaryotic Transcriptional Control22m
- Eukaryotic Post-Transcriptional Regulation28m
- Eukaryotic Post-Translational Regulation13m
- 17. Viruses37m
- 18. Biotechnology2h 58m
- 19. Genomics17m
- 20. Development1h 5m
- 21. Evolution3h 1m
- 22. Evolution of Populations3h 52m
- 23. Speciation1h 37m
- 24. History of Life on Earth2h 6m
- 25. Phylogeny2h 31m
- 26. Prokaryotes4h 59m
- 27. Protists1h 12m
- 28. Plants1h 22m
- 29. Fungi36m
- 30. Overview of Animals34m
- 31. Invertebrates1h 2m
- 32. Vertebrates50m
- 33. Plant Anatomy1h 3m
- 34. Vascular Plant Transport2m
- 35. Soil37m
- 36. Plant Reproduction47m
- 37. Plant Sensation and Response1h 9m
- 38. Animal Form and Function1h 19m
- 39. Digestive System10m
- 40. Circulatory System1h 57m
- 41. Immune System1h 12m
- 42. Osmoregulation and Excretion50m
- 43. Endocrine System4m
- 44. Animal Reproduction2m
- 45. Nervous System55m
- 46. Sensory Systems46m
- 47. Muscle Systems23m
- 48. Ecology3h 11m
- Introduction to Ecology20m
- Biogeography14m
- Earth's Climate Patterns50m
- Introduction to Terrestrial Biomes10m
- Terrestrial Biomes: Near Equator13m
- Terrestrial Biomes: Temperate Regions10m
- Terrestrial Biomes: Northern Regions15m
- Introduction to Aquatic Biomes27m
- Freshwater Aquatic Biomes14m
- Marine Aquatic Biomes13m
- 49. Animal Behavior28m
- 50. Population Ecology3h 41m
- Introduction to Population Ecology28m
- Population Sampling Methods23m
- Life History12m
- Population Demography17m
- Factors Limiting Population Growth14m
- Introduction to Population Growth Models22m
- Linear Population Growth6m
- Exponential Population Growth29m
- Logistic Population Growth32m
- r/K Selection10m
- The Human Population22m
- 51. Community Ecology2h 46m
- Introduction to Community Ecology2m
- Introduction to Community Interactions9m
- Community Interactions: Competition (-/-)38m
- Community Interactions: Exploitation (+/-)23m
- Community Interactions: Mutualism (+/+) & Commensalism (+/0)9m
- Community Structure35m
- Community Dynamics26m
- Geographic Impact on Communities21m
- 52. Ecosystems2h 36m
- 53. Conservation Biology24m
46. Sensory Systems
Sensory System
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