The Chemical Senses: Taste and Smell

Taste. The stimuli for taste are chemical substances dissolved in water or other fluids. Taste can be
described as four basic sensations, sweet, sour, salty, and bitter, which can be combined in various
ways to make all other taste sensations. Taste receptors (called taste buds) for these sensations are
located primarily on various areas of the tongue: front, sweet; sides, sour; sides and front, salty; and
back, bitter (Figure ). There are about 10,000 taste buds, which are situated primarily in or around
the bumps (papillae) on the tongue. Each papilla contains several taste buds, from which information
is sent by afferent nerves to the thalamus and, ultimately, to areas in the cortex.

Smell (olfaction). The stimuli for smell are volatile chemical substances suspended in the air. These
molecules stimulate the olfactory receptors, which are in the upper portions of the nasal passages.
Neurons from these receptors bundle together to form the olfactory nerve, which travels to the
olfactory bulb at the base of the brain. The theory of smell is not well understood (for example, how
an odor of apple pie can evoked pleasant childhood memories).

The skin contains receptors that respond to touch, pressure, and temperature. The relationships
between receptors and the cutaneous sensations are not completely understood. Meissner's
corpuscles are sensitive to touch and Pacinian corpuscles to deep pressure. Ruffini endings transmit
information about warmth and Krause's bulbs about cold. Information is transmitted from the
receptors to nerve fibers that are routed through the spinal cord to the brainstem. From there they
are transmitted to an area of cortex in the parietal lobe. Skin senses also undergo various kinds of
sensory adaptation. For example, a hot tub can be initially so hot that it is intolerable, but after
awhile one can sit in it without discomfort.

Pain. Pain receptors are mostly free nerve endings in the skin. Information is transmitted by two
types of pathways to the brain by way of the thalamus.

The fast pathway (myelinated) detects localized pain and sends that information rapidly to the
cortex.

The slow pathway (unmyelinated) carries less‐localized, longer‐acting pain information (such as that
concerning chronic aches).