CHAPTER 17: SPECIAL SENSES

OLFACTION – Sense of Smell; Smell is a chemical sense

 The nose contains 10 million to 100 million receptors for the sense of smell or olfaction
contained within a region called the olfactory epithelium

Olfactory epithelium - houses the 10M to 100M receptors

 occupies the superior part of the nasal cavity, covering the inferior surface of the cribriform
plate and extending along the superior nasal concha

THREE KINDS OF CELLS IN THE OLFACTORY EPITHELIUM

1. Olfactory Receptor Cells

Note: olfactory transduction happens due to receptor cells and bowman’s glands

2. Supporting Cells
a. Supporting cells (columnar epithelium):
b. located in the mucous membrane lining the nose
c. Used for physical support, nourishment and electrical insulation for olfactory
receptor cells
3. Basal Cells
a. undergo mitosis to replace olfactory receptor cells

Olfactory transduction: binding of an odorant molecule to an olfactory receptor protein

 Chemical reactions involving cyclic AMP (cAMP) cause depolarization

GUSTATION: Sense of Taste

 Taste is a chemical sense, but it is much simpler than olfaction

5 PRIMARY TASTES:

1. Sour
2. Sweet
3. Bitter
4. Salt
5. Umami (meaty, savory)
a. Flavors other than umami are combinations of the other four primary tastes
 Taste buds contain receptors for the sensation of taste q Approximately 10,000 taste buds
are found on the tongue of a young adult and on the soft palate, pharynx, and epiglottis
 TASTE BUDS contain 3 KINDS OF EPITHELIAL CELLS:
o Supporting cells
o Gustatory receptor cells
o Basal stem cells
  Taste buds are located in elevations on the tongue called papillae
 3 TYPES OF PAPILLAE that contain taste buds:
o Vallate papillae - about 12 that contain 100–300 taste buds
o Fungiform papillae - scattered over the tongue with about 5 taste buds each
o Foliate papillae - located in lateral trenches of the tongue (most of their taste buds
degenerate in early childhood)
o Filiform papillae - cover the entire surface of the tongue q Contain tactile receptors
but no taste buds
 Increase friction to make it easier for the tongue to move food within the
mouth
 Three cranial nerves are involved the sense of taste:
o facial (VII) nerve carries taste information from the anterior 2/3 of the tongue
o Glossopharyngeal (IX) nerve carries taste information from the posterior 1/3 of the
tongue
o Vagus (X) nerve carries taste information from taste buds on the epiglottis and in
the throat

VISION

 Vision uses visible light which is part of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths
from about 400 to 700 nm
 Wavelength is defined as the distance between two consecutive peaks of an electromagnetic
wave
 The retina lines the posterior Three-Quarters of The Inner Layer Of The Eyeball
 The optic (II) nerve is also visible
 the point at which the optic nerve exits the eye is the optic disc (blind spot)
 The exact center of the retina is the macula lutea
o In its center is the fovea centralis (area of highest visual acuity)
 The retina contains sensors (photoreceptors) known as rods and cones q
o Rods to see in dim light
o Cones produce color vision
o Rods and cones, the photoreceptors in the retina that convert light energy into
neural impulses, were named for the appearance of their outer segments
 From these sensors, information flows through the outer synaptic layer to bipolar cells
through the inner synaptic layer to ganglion cells
o Axons of these exit as the optic (II) nerve
 Light passes through the cornea, the anterior chamber, the pupil, the posterior chamber, the
lens, the vitreous humor, and is projected onto the retina
 Light refracts (bends) when it passes through a transparent substance with one density into
a second transparent substance with a different density. This bending occurs at the junction
of the two substances.
 in Images focused on the retina are inverted and right-to-left reversed due to refraction the
brain corrects the image
o The lens must accommodate to properly focus the object
o The image is projected onto the fovea centralis, the site where vision is the sharpest
 Rods and cones contain photopigments necessary for the absorption of light that will initiate
the events that lead to production of a receptor potential
o Rods contain only rhodopsin
  Cones contain three different photopigments, one for each of the three types of cones (red,
green, blue)
o Photopigments respond to light in a cyclical process
 The neural pathway for vision begins when the rods and cones convert light energy into
neural signals that are directed to the optic (II) nerves
 The pathway is:
o The optic chiasm
o The optic tract
o The lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus
o Optic radiations allow the information to arrive at the primary visual areas of the
occipital lobes for perception
 The anterior location of our eyes leads to visual field overlap. This gives us binocular vision.
 The two visual fields of each eye are nasal (medial) and temporal (lateral)
 Visual information from the right half of each visual field travels to the left side of the brain
 Visual information from the left half of each visual field travels to the right side of the brain

HEARING AND EQUILIBRIUM

 The transduction of sound vibrations by the ear’s sensory receptors into electrical signals is 1000
times faster than the response to light by the eye’s photoreceptors
 The ear also contains receptors for equilibrium
 The ear is divided into 3 regions: the external ear, middle ear and internal ear
 The external (outer) ear contains the auricle (pinna), external auditory canal, and the tympanic
membrane (eardrum)
o The auricle captures sound
o The external auditory canal transmits sound to the eardrum
o Ceruminous glands secrete cerumen (earwax) to protect the canal and eardrum
 The middle ear contains 3 auditory ossicles (smallest bones in the body)
o Malleus, incus, and stapes
o Sound vibrations are transmitted from the eardrum through these 3 bones to the oval
window
 The auditory tube (pharyngotympanic tube, eustachian tube) extends from the middle ear into
the nasopharynx to regulate air pressure in the middle ear
 The internal (inner) ear (labyrinth) contains the cochlea which translates vibrations into neural
impulses that the brain can interpret as sound, and the semicircular canals that work with the
cerebellum for balance and equilibrium
 Vibrations are transmitted from the stapes through the oval window to the cochlea as fluid
pressure waves are transmitted into the perilymph of the scala vestibuli
 From here, pressure waves travel to the scala tympani and then to the round window which
bulges into the middle ear
 Pressure waves travel from the scala vestibuli to the vestibular membrane to the endolymph of
the cochlear duct.
 The basilar membrane vibrates. This moves the hair cells of the spiral organ (organ of Corti)
against the tectorial membrane. These cells generate nerve impulses in cochlear nerve fibers.
 The cochlear nerve fibers form the cochlear branch of the vestibulocochlear (VIII) nerve
o The axons synapse with neurons in the cochlear nuclei in the medulla oblongata.
 The impulses travel to the medial geniculate nucleus of the thalamus and end in the primary
auditory area of the cerebral cortex in the temporal lobe
 Equilibrium (balance) exists in two forms:
o Static equilibrium: maintenance of the body’s position relative to the force of gravity
o Dynamic equilibrium: the maintenance of the body’s position in response to sudden
movements.
 Vestibular apparatus: The organs that maintain equilibrium. Includes saccule, utricle (both
otolithic organs), and semicircular canals.
 Otoliths are calcium carbonate crystals. The walls of the utricle and saccule contain a macula.
The two maculae are receptors for static equilibrium.
 The otolithic membrane sits on top of the macula. Movement of the head causes gravity to
move it down over hair cells. The hair cells synapse with neurons in the vestibular branch of the
vestibulocochlear (VIII) nerve.
 Three semicircular canals are responsible for dynamic equilibrium
o The ducts lie at right angles to each other which allows for rotational acceleration or
deceleration
 An ampulla in each canal contains the crista with a group of hair cells
o Movement of the head affects the endolymph and hair cells
o This generates a potential leading to nerve impulses that travel along the vestibular
branch of the vestibulocochlear (VIII) nerve