THE SPECIAL SENSES:

The Chemical Senses –

Taste and Smell
The Sense of Hearing

CHRISTIEN MARIE T. TORMON-NUFABLE, MD, FPSO-HNS

College of Medicine
OBJECTIVES

 To describe the olfactory receptors

and the olfactory pathway to the
brain.
 To describe the receptors for gustation
and the gustatory pathway to the
brain.
 To describe the receptors for hearing
and their pathway to the brain.
Sense of Smell and Taste
Sense of Smell
Sense of Smell

A man can have a big nose but have no sense of smell.

Olfaction
 Olfactory epithelium/
membrane
– 10 sq cm
– Occupies the upper
portion of the nasal
cavity.
– Medially, folds
downward over the
superior septum.
– Laterally, over the
superior turbinate.
Olfactory Epithelium

 Consist of 3 types
of cells
– Olfactory receptors
– Supporting
cells/sustentacular
cells
– Basal stem cells

– Olfactory glands
Olfactory glands

 Bowman’s gland
 Produce mucus w/c
moistens the
surface epithelium
and serves as
solvent for inhaled
odorants.
Sustentacular cells
 Provide physical
support, nourishment,
and electrical insulation
for the olfactory
receptors.
 Help detoxify chemicals
that come in contact
with the olfactory
epithelium.
Basal Cells

 Basement cells.
 Lie between the
bases of supporting
cells.
 Continuously
undergo cell
division to produce
new olfactory
receptors.
Olfactory cells
 Receptor cells for
the smell sensation.
 Bipolar nerve cells.
 ~100 million
 From the mucosal
end, the cell forms
a knob from which
6-12 olfactory
hairs/ cilia project.
Olfactory cells

 Axons pierce the

cribriform plate of
ethmoid bone and
enter the olfactory
bulb.
Olfactory Bulb

 Lies on the ventral

aspect of the
frontal lobe.
 Layered structure
that sends olfactory
information to the
brain.
Olfactory bulb

 Glomerular layer
 External plexiform
layer
 Mitral cell layer
 Internal plexiform
layer
 Granule cell layer
Transmission of smell
signals to the CNS
Central Olfactory
Pathways
 Medial olfactory
pathway
– Limbic system
– hypothalamus
 Lateral olfactory
pathway
– Prepyriform,
pyriform
– Amygdala
– hippocampus
Central olfactory pathway

 Newer olfactory
system
– Thalamus
– Orbitofrontal cortex
– Conscious analysis
of odor
Stimulation of olfactory
cells
 G-protein is stimulated -triggers
activation of Adenyl cyclase
(enzyme speeds up the conversion
of ATP to cAMP – cAMP then binds
to action channels in membrane of
cilia- this causes channels to open
and Ca ions to enter cilia – influx
of Ca ions activates Cl channels to
open and Cl leaves. Membrane
becomes depolarized and AP is
created. The action potential
travels down the axon of olfactory
receptor cell eventually meets with
the other axons and forms the
olfactory nerve (CN I)
Olfactory thresholds and
discrimination
 Olfactory receptors respond Substance mg/L of Air
only to substances in contact
with olfactory epithelium and
need to be dissolved in mucus
 Methyl marcaptan one of the Ethyl ether 5.83
substances in garlic can be Chloroform 3.30
smelled at very low
concentration showing the Pyridine 0.03
remarkable sensitivity of
olfactory receptors Oil of peppermint 0.02
 Humans can recognize more Iodoform 0.02
than 10 different odors
Butyric acid 0.009
 However determination of
intensity of odor is poor Propyl 0.006
mercaptan
Artificial musk 0.00004
Methyl 0.0000004
mercaptan
Factors that affect the
Degree of Stimulation of
OR
 Only volatile substance can be
smelled.
 Stimulating substances must be at
least water soluble.
SENSE OF TASTE
Sense of taste
 Stimulated by the
facial nerve,
glossopharyngeal
nerve and vagus
nerve.
TASTE BUDS

 Modified epithelial
cells
 50-150 columnar
taste receptor cells
bundled together
like a cluster of
banana.
 Taste map is a
myth.
 All taste buds
detect all tastes.
 Specificity of
gustatory receptor
cells is determined
in which it resides.
CN VII (facial), IX (glossopharyngeal),
and X (vagus) to Tractus Solitarius
Adequate Stimulus for
Taste (Gustation

Water soluble compounds, which diffuse

to the taste receptors and interact
with receptor molecules on taste cells.
Physiology of taste

Four fundamental sensations of taste have

been described - sweet, sour, bitter and
salt.
umami
This is probably an over simplification
because perception varies widely and many
'tastes' cannot be easily classified.
However, some tastes consistently stimulate
taste buds in specific parts of the tongue.
Sour taste
 The stronger the acid,  Compound Index
the more sour the  HCl 1
taste.  Formic 1.1
 Proportional to the  Chloroacetic 0.9
logarithm of hydrogen
ion concentration pH.  Lactic 0.85
 Warns against  Acetic 0.55
potentially  Citric
noxious/poisonous 0.46
chemicals.  Carbonic 0.06
Salt taste

 Elicited by ionized  Compound Index

salts.  NaCl 1
 Ensures proper  NaF 2
dietary electrolyte  CaCl2 1
balance.  NH4Cl 2.5
 KCl 0.6
Sweet Taste
 Organic compounds,  Compound Index
sugars, glycols, amino  Sucrose 1
acids etc.  p-4000 5000
 Inorganic salts of lead  Saccharin 675
and beryllium (reason
for lead poisoning).  Chloroform 40
 Identifies energy-rich  Fructose 1.7
nutrients.  Glucose 0.8
 Lactose 0.3
Bitter Taste
 Long chain organic  Compound Index
substances and  Quinine 1
alkaloids.
 Strychnine 3.1
 Taste threshold is  Nicotine 1.3
lowest for bitter
 Caffeine 0.4
substances.
 Atropine 0.13
 Warns against
Cocaine 0.02
potentially 

noxious/poisonous  Morphine 0.02

chemicals.
Umami

 allows the  Glutamate

recognition of  Monosodium
amino acids. glutamate (MSG)
 Aspartate
TASTE STIMULI

1. Pass directly through an ion channel

(salt and sour)
b. Bind to and block ion channels (sour
and bitter)
c. Bind to and open ion channels (some
sweet amino acids)

d. Bind to membrane receptors that

activate 2nd messenger systems that in
turn open or close ion channels (sweet
and bitter)
Taste Perception Varies
According To Context
 Perception of taste is significantly
affected by other inputs – olfactory,
visual, and somatosensory system.
 Perception of taste is significantly
affected by prior experience, satiety,
and hunger
Sense of Hearing
EAR

 Sensitive receptor.
 Its function is to convert vibrations
into an encoded nervous impulse.
 It can be thought of as a biological
microphone.
ear

 Sound conducting mechanism

– Outer ear
– Middle ear
 Sound transducing mechanism
– Inner ear
EAR
 External Ear
– Auricle/ pinna
– EAC

 Middle Ear
– Tympanic membrane
– ossicles
– Middle ear cavity
– Antrum/ mastoid air cells
– Eustachian tube
External ear

 PINNA – collects
sound and channels
it into the ear
canal.
 EAC- acts as a
resonating tube and
actually amplifies
sounds between
3000-4000Hz
Tympanic membrane

 Together with the

ossicles, they
provide impedance
matching between
the sound waves in
air and the sound
vibration in the fluid
of the cochlea.
 Vibrations traveling through the ear
canal strike the taut membrane of the
eardrum, causing it and the ossicles to
vibrate.
 The vibrations would then stimulate
the receptor cells for hearing in the
inner ear.
 Because fluid has greater inertia than
air, there must be a greater amount of
pressure to cause vibration in the
fluid.
 Pinna presents a larger surface area
and funnels sound to the smaller TM;
in turn TM is much larger than the
stapes footplate, so there is hydraulic
amplification.
 A small mov’t over a large area is
converted to a large mov’t over a
smaller area.
 Thus, outer and middle ear serve to
amplify sound signal.
Sound transducing
mechanism
Inner ear

 Auditory
– cochlea
 Vestibular
– SCC
– Otolithic organs

– Perilymph
– endolymph
 contains perilymph
– high in sodium,
low in potassium
(ECF-like )
Membranous labyrinth

 contained w/in the

bony labyrinth

 houses the
endolymph – high
in potassium, low in
sodium (ICF-like)
cochlea
 System of coiled tubes.
 3 tubes coiled side by
side:
– Scala vestibuli
– Scala media
– Scala tympani
Basilar membrane

 Fibrous membrane that separates the

scala media from scala tympani.
 The fibers are stiff, elastic, reedlike
that are fixed at their basal ends but
not fixed at the distal end.
 Base – high freq, apex low freq
Questions?