Exploring the Senses - Essay Example

How do taste buds work? Taste buds are located in the surrounding epithelium of the tongue and are composed of different types of cells, basal and gustatory. Each cell has extended microvilli or taste hairs which act as taste receptors or specifically chemoreceptors which are converted into electrical signals by the neurons and relayed to the central nervous system. How does the tongue recognize different tastes, such as the sourness of a lemon or the sweetness of sugar? The cells making up the taste buds have different chemical receptors for the different types of dissolved chemicals being introduced to the tongue.

For example, when tasting something salty, specific salt receptors stimulate its ion channels releasing neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters produce action potentials thus converting the chemical response into electrical signals to be interpreted by the brain and producing the sensation of a salty taste. •Which taste cannot be detected by the tip of your tongue: bitter, sour, salty, or sweet? Why? Since the structure of the taste buds is the same no matter where they are located on the tongue and all taste buds provide differentiation between the varying tastes, the tip of the tongue can detect all tastes.

The degree of sensitivity may vary across the tongue but the tip is still able to pick up the different tastes. •What is a super-taster? Propose an explanation for why some people possess this trait.A super-taster is a person who has an increased sensitivity to different tastes than an average person. One explanation can be that they might have a higher than average number of taste buds and thus cell receptors. Since it is the taste buds that take the chemical stimuli and convert them into electrical signals via cranial nerves to be interpreted into the different tastes by the brain; the presence of more taste buds could increase a super-taster’s sensitivity and intensify their taste experience.

ReferencesMartini, F., H. (2004). Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology. San Francisco, CA: Pearson Education.