Deck 2: The Chemical Senses

Question 1

Your house does not smell, but your friend's does, probably because…

A) You have a very discriminating nose
B) Your house is very clean
C) Your nose has adapted to your house
D) Your friend's house is in a mess

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Adapting to a sour taste will cause water to taste:

A) Sweet
B) Sour
C) Bitter
D) Salty

Answer 2

A

Question 3

How many types of olfactory receptor do humans have?

A) 5-10
B) 50-100
C) 500-1000
D) 5000-10000

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which statement about taste and flavour is false?

A) Toxic plant alkaloids taste sour
B) Changing the colour of a food can alter its flavour
C) Changing the viscosity of a food can alter its flavour
D) Sodium chloride tastes salty

Question 5

The decrease in perceived intensity of a smell during continuous exposure is known as:

A) Odour adaptation
B) Odour blindness
C) Temporary anosmia
D) Partial anosmia

Question 6

Which statement about the sensory pathways for taste is incorrect:

A) Afferent nerves terminate in the brainstem
B) Afferent nerves in the rat can be grouped according to their response to different substances
C) Some sensory nerves project directly to the amygdala
D) Sensory projections go to the primary gustatory cortex via the thalamus

Question 7

Evidence indicates that in odour identification tasks:

A) Women outperform men most of the time
B) There is no gender based performance difference
C) Men outperform women most of the time
D) Both genders are quite good at identifying odours

Question 8

Which statement about olfactory mitral cells is true. They:

A) Have a direct projection to the amygdala
B) Are relayed via the thalamus to the primary olfactory cortex
C) Greatly outnumber olfactory receptor cells
D) Each receive axons from a variety of different types of olfactory receptors

Question 9

Which statement about conditioned taste aversion is true. It:

A) Develops without conscious awareness or control
B) Is learned by observing the food preferences of peers
C) Requires several associations to learn
D) Is seen in rodents, birds, and fish, but not humans and monkeys.

Question 10

Which substance evokes the umami taste sensation in humans?

A) Glutamic acid
B) Glucose
C) Glycosamine
D) Glycogen

Question 11

Olfactory receptor cells are renewed:

A) Every 60 days
B) Every 10 days
C) Every 6 weeks
D) Every 6 weeks

Question 12

Which of the following statements about the taste primaries theory is incorrect?

A) Taste is based on a distributed population code
B) Taste is an analytic sense
C) All tastes can be subdivided into the contribution from five basic sensations
D) The five types of sensory neuron act as labelled lines

Question 13

The neural system responsible for flavour includes neurones in:

A) Occipito-parietal cortex
B) Tempo-parietal cortex
C) Occipito-temporal cortex
D) Orbito-frontal cortex

Question 14

Which of the following statements about olfaction is false?

A) It is possible to predict the smell evoked by novel molecules
B) Humans can distinguish gender on the basis of breath or hand smell
C) Chemical signals in smells can cause menstrual synchrony in women
D) Doctors used to use a patient's smell to assist in their diagnosis

Question 15

Partial anosmia is:

A) Due to a genetic deficiency in olfactory reception
B) Difficulty getting a good nights sleep
C) Extremely rare in humans
D) Caused by damage to the olfactory nerve as it passes through the cribriform plate

Question 16

Which substance tastes sour?

A) Citric acid
B) Morphine
C) Quinine
D) Monosodium glutamate

Question 17

Free nerve endings:

A) Signal the tingle, cool, and burn qualities of smells
B) Signal umami
C) Signal the saltiness of foods
D) Signal the hedonic nature of smells

Question 18

The psychological sensation of eating is known as:

A) Gustation
B) Olfaction
C) Flavour
D) Gastronomy