How We Process Smell, Taste, Touch and Body Movement Info

oflacation

sense of smell; breaks down chemical components present in odors

nasal cavity

aromatic odorants and molecules enter here and mucus helps them make contact with nose lining

oflactory epithelium

lining in nose

olfactory neurons

receptor cells that transmit info to brains olfactory bulb

limbic system

identifies specific scents

gustation

sense of taste, breaks down chemical components in food

papilae

small bumps on tongue, contains 8,000 to 10,000 taste buds

taste buds

group of sensory cells that detect taste

basic tastes on tongue’s regions

• bitter

• sour

• umami (savory)

• sweet

somatosensation

all processes involved in conveying sensory info about body and how it interacts with surroundings

mechanoreceptors

on dermis and allow us to sense pain, vibration, and different types of pressure

thermoreceptors

on dermis, registers temperature

sensory homunculus

map like structure specializing in processing sensory information from parts of our body

touch activity

being able to know more than precise nature of touch

nocireceptors

feels harmful stimuli

slow fibers

sense steady, dull, or chronic pain

fast fibers

sense sharp, urgent pain

gate control theory

experience pain because small fibers send signals from body to brain and when we experience muscle pain; we want to “close the gate”

vestibular sense

sense of balance, movement and gravity that comes from fluid-filled canals of inner ear

kinesthesis

sense that provides info about limbs movement in space

proprioception

awareness of body’s position in space relative to other objects