Deck 15: The Chemical Senses

Question 1

 The tiny bumps on the tongue that contain the taste buds are the _____.

A) insulae
B) lattices
C) papillae
D) tadomae

Answer 1

C

Question 2

 Sodium nitrate results in a taste of _____.

A) sweet only
B) sweet and sour, but not bitter
C) a combination of sour and bitter only
D) a combination of salty, sour, and bitter

Answer 2

D

Question 3

 David Smith and Thomas Scott (2003) argue for _____ coding based on the finding that at more central locations in the taste system, neurons are tuned broadly, with many neurons responding to more than one taste quality.

A) specificity
B) common
C) population
D) integrative

Answer 3

C

Question 4

 The ____ pathway conducts signals from the front and sides of the tongue to the brain.

A) chorda tympani
B) glossopharyngeal nerve
C) vagus nerve
D) insula nerve

Question 5

 Evidence for _____ is provided by an Erickson (1963) study in which rats appeared to be unable to discriminate between two different solutions that produce a similar taste.

A) population coding
B) specificity coding
C) olfactory decoding
D) common coding

Question 6

 The substance amiloride _____.

A) blocks the flow of sucrose to taste receptors
B) blocks the flow of sodium to taste receptors
C) increases neural responses to salt detection
D) neutralizes bitter tastes by confusing the signal

Question 7

 Eliminating the receptor for bitter tastes results in _____.

A) a "shifting" of the selectivity other receptors to allow some detection of bitter
B) the regeneration of bitter receptors
C) less sensitivity to umami and salty tastes
D) no effect on responses to the other tastes

Question 8

 Areas on the tongue covered primarily with filiform papillae, which contain no taste buds, are similar to _____ in vision.

A) convergence
B) the blind spot
C) cortical magnification
D) accretion and deletion

Question 9

 Taste signals from the thalamus project to _____.

A) the insula and the frontal operculum cortex
B) only the nucleus of solitary tract
C) the orbitofrontal cortex
D) the parietal cortex

Question 10

 A fifth basic taste discovered many years after the other four is _____.

A) referred to as salty-sweet
B) described as "bittersweet"
C) described as "putrid"
D) referred to as umami

Question 11

 Mueller et al. created a strain of mice that lacked the receptor that normally responds to a bitter substance called Cyx. The mice that did not have this receptor _____.

A) avoided all bitter substances
B) avoided Cyx, but would eat other bitter foods
C) did not avoid Cyx
D) avoided high concentrations of PTC

Question 12

 The "life-span" of olfactory receptors in humans is _____.

A) one day
B) five to seven weeks
C) seven years
D) 60 years

Question 13

 In taste research, people are classified as "tasters" or "non-tasters" based on their sensitivity to PTC, which tastes _____.

A) sweet
B) sour
C) salty
D) bitter

Question 14

 The difference between "tasters" and "non-tasters" in the ability to taste PROP is due to _____.

A) a higher density of taste buds for "tasters" than "non-tasters"
B) a lower density of taste buds for "tasters" than "non-tasters"
C) specialized receptors present in "tasters" tongues that are absent from non-tasters"
D) both higher taste bud density and specialized receptors for "tasters"

Question 15

 The senses of _____ are referred to as the gatekeepers.

A) olfaction and taste
B) kinethesis and proprioception
C) vision and olfaction
D) vision and proprioception

Question 16

 The central part of the tongue has no taste sensations because that part consists primarily of _____ papillae, which do not contain taste buds.

A) filiform
B) fungiform
C) foliate
D) circumvillate

Question 17

 In regard to specificity vs. population coding, most researchers conclude that _____.

A) population coding has the most research support
B) specificity coding has the most research support
C) basic taste qualities are determined by specificity coding, and population coding is important for discriminating subtle differences
D) basic taste qualities are determined by population coding, and specificity coding is important for discriminating subtle differences

Question 18

 "Across-fiber patterns" is another name for _____.

A) population coding
B) specificity coding
C) olfactory decoding
D) common coding

Question 19

 The _____ papillae are mushroom-shaped and found on the tip and sides of the tongue.

A) filiform
B) fungiform
C) foliate
D) circumvillate

Question 20

 _____ tastes cause an autonomic acceptance response and prepares the gastrointestinal tract for these substances.

A) Bitter
B) Sweet
C) Sour?
D) Umami

Question 21

 Sources of odor are called _____.

A) odor emitters
B) olfactory stimulus
C) odorants
D) odor objects

Question 22

 Octanoic acid and octanol differ in molecular structure by one oxygen molecule. When smelling these substances, _____.

A) participants report that the two substances both smell "sweet"
B) participants report that the two substances both smell "musky"
C) the recognition profiles for the two substances are very different
D) octanoic acid, but not octanol, is classified as a "pheromone" for sexual attraction

Question 23

 _____ is the inability to smell due to injury or infection.

A) Aphasia
B) Anosmia
C) Alliesthesia
D) Prosopagnosia

Question 24

 The _____ is most likely involved perceiving overlapping odors, such as "coffee" "French toast" and "bacon."

A) piriform cortex
B) nasal pharynx
C) PTC
D) insula

Question 25

 When using the forced-choice procedure in measuring odor detection thresholds, the experimenter should _____.

A) do two trials simultaneously
B) separate trials by at least 500 msec
C) separate trials by at least 5 seconds
D) separate trials by at least 30 seconds

Question 26

 The human sensitivity for the odorant that is added to natural gas is _____ the odorant for the main substance in nail polish remover.

A) greater than
B) less than
C) the same as
D) not consistently different than

Question 27

 There are _____ different types of olfactory receptors in humans.

A) 150 to 200
B) 250 to 300
C) 350 to 400
D) 450 to 500

Question 28

 Dogs are more sensitive to smells than humans because _____.

A) humans have more olfactory receptors than dogs
B) dogs have many more olfactory receptors than humans
C) each individual olfactory receptor is more sensitive in dogs than in humans
D) dogs tend to be microsmatic

Question 29

 The _____ is the structure that contains the receptors for olfaction.

A) olfactory bulb
B) olfactory mucosa
C) chorda tympani
D) substantia gelatinosa

Question 30

 Olfactory transduction occurs at _____.

A) the olfactory receptor neurons
B) the amygdala
C) the papillae
D) the foliate

Question 31

 The axons of the olfactory sensory neurons project to the _____ in the brain.

A) glomeruli in the olfactory bulb
B) occipital lobe
C) lateral geniculate nucleus
D) superior olivary nucleus

Question 32

 The relationship between an odorant's smell and its recognition profile is similar to _____ in vision.

A) stereopsis
B) binocular cell response
C) trichromatic coding for color
D) corollary discharge theory

Question 33

 What is a correct interpretation when using calcium imaging to measure olfactory receptor response

A) The more strongly the ORN is activated, the more the fluorescence increases.
B) The more strongly the ORN is activated, the more the fluorescence decreases.
C) The more strongly the ORN is activated, the greater the "glow".
D) The more strongly the ORN is activated, the more the concentration of calcium ions decreases.

Question 34

 Uchida's optical imaging research showed that as the length of the carbon chain increases, the area of activation is _____.

A) more centrally located
B) located more to the right
C) located more to the left
D) randomly distributed across the glomeruli

Question 35

 Macrosmatic animals _____.

A) have relatively few olfactory receptors
B) have limited ability to discriminate among odors
C) are unable to exploit pheromones
D) use their sense of smell for survival

Question 36

 In one study, men rated the scent of t-shirts worn by women three nights in a row. The results indicated that _____.

A) men disliked the smell of dirty t-shirts on men, but not women
B) men preferred the t-shirt scent if the woman was in the ovulatory phase of her cycle
C) men preferred the t-shirt scent if the woman was in the non-ovulatory phase of her cycle
D) men disliked the t-shirt scent of women who showered regularly

Question 37

 When researchers presented participants with the names of the substances, they would be smelling at the beginning of the experiment and then reminded them of the correct names when they failed to respond correctly on subsequent trials, they could, after some practice, correctly identify _____ of the substances.

A) 68%
B) 78%
C) 88%
D) 98%

Question 38

 Olfactory signals from the glomeruli project to _____.

A) the olfactory bulb
B) olfactory receptor neurons
C) the olfactory mucosa
D) higher cortical areas

Question 39

 When presented with a common odor like banana or motor oil, participants can identify the odor approximately _____% of the time.

A) 10
B) 50
C) 87
D) 98

Question 40

 Which technique involves injecting an animal with a radioactive molecule to see which part of the olfactory bulb is most activated by different chemicals

A) genetic tracing
B) olfactory Evoked Potentials
C) 2-DG
D) TVC-15

Question 41

 Discuss the research on odor identification. Relate Goldstein's anecdote about smelling "Aquavit" to odor identification (or better yet, describe a similar situation that happened in your life).

Question 42

 What is the difference between tasters and non-tasters?
What is(are) the proposed cause(s) for this difference?

Question 43

 Compare three different methods for studying the physiology of olfaction.

Question 44

 Describe the capacity of human infants to experience taste and smell.

Question 45

 Describe the Proust effect and provide a physiological explanation for its occurrence.

Question 46

 In one study, males were asked to rate the scent of a t-shirt worn by a woman three nights during ovulation or three nights when not in ovulation. Discuss the results of this study and relate them to reproductive fertility and the human ability to sense pheromones.

Question 47

 Flavor is the impression a person gets from the combination of _____.

A) taste and hearing only
B) taste and vision only
C) olfaction, taste, vision, and touch
D) olfaction and taste, and touch

Question 48

 Does population coding or specificity coding occur in taste?
Support your answer with research.

Question 49

 An eight-hour-old newborn who is given a concentrated shrimp odor to smell will _____.

A) respond with a facial expression similar to a smile
B) respond with an increase in sucking
C) respond with a facial expression that displays disgust
D) will not respond at all to smells at this young age

Question 50

 Vision contributes to the experience of flavor at the level of the _____.

A) OFC and insula
B) insula and amygdala
C) hypothalamus and insula
D) OFC and amygdala

Question 51

 What is flavor?
Describe how taste experience is affected if olfaction does not take place when tasting a substance.

Question 52

 An experiment by Julie Mennella and coworkers (2001) involved pregnant women who drank carrot juice during the last trimester of pregnancy but water (not carrot juice) during the first two months of lactation; drank water (not carrot juice) during the last trimester but carrot juice during the first two months of lactation; or drank water (not carrot juice) during the last trimester and first two months of lactation. When subsequently offered carrot-flavored cereal, the infants _____.

A) who were exposed to the taste of carrot juice in amniotic fluid or breast milk had a marked dislike of carrot-flavored cereal
B) who were exposed to the taste of carrot juice in amniotic fluid had a preference for carrot-flavored cereal but those exposed to it in breast milk had a marked dislike of carrot-flavored cereal
C) who were exposed to the taste of carrot juice in breast milk had a preference for carrot-flavored cereal but those exposed to it in amniotic fluid had a marked dislike of carrot-flavored cereal
D) who were exposed to the taste of carrot juice in amniotic fluid or breast milk had a preference for carrot-flavored cereal

Question 53

 Which compound has the same flavor whether or not the person's nose is clamped to prevent olfaction

A) sodium oleate
B) ferrous sodium
C) MSG
D) L-cysteine

Question 54

 Sensory-specific satiety occurs in the response of the _____.

A) insula
B) orbitofrontal cortex
C) hypothalamus
D) amygdala