SENSE OF TASTE AND SMELL

Terminology The disorders of smell are classified as "-osmias" and those of taste as "-geusias." Anosmia - Inability to detect odors Hyposmia - Decreased ability to detect odors Dysosmia - Distorted identification of smell Parosmia - Altered perception of smell in the presence of an odor, usually unpleasant Phantosmia Perception of smell without an odor present Agnosia - Inability to classify or contrast odors, although able to detect odors Ageusia - Inability to taste Hypogeusia - Decreased ability to taste Dysgeusia Distorted ability to taste

How do smell and taste work? Smell and taste belong to our chemical sensing system (chemosensation). The complicated process of smelling and tasting begins when molecules released by the substances around us stimulate special nerve cells in the nose, mouth, or throat. These cells transmit messages to the brain, where specific smells or tastes are identified. Olfactory (smell nerve) cells are stimulated by the odors around usthe fragrance from a rose, the smell of bread baking. These nerve cells are found in a tiny patch of tissue high up in the nose, and they connect directly to the brain. Gustatory (taste nerve) cells are clustered in the taste buds of the mouth and throat. They react to food or drink mixed with saliva. Many of the small bumps that can be seen on the tongue contain taste buds. These surface cells send taste information to nearby nerve fibers, which send messages to the brain. Our bodys ability to sense chemicals is another chemosensory mechanism that contributes to our senses of smell and taste. In this system, thousands of free nerve endingsespecially on the moist surfaces of the eyes, nose, mouth, and throatidentify sensations like the sting of ammonia, the coolness of menthol, and the heat of chili peppers. As with many organs in the body the smelling apparatus is duplicated, each circuit acting independently. The sensory receptors for smell are found in the roof of the nasal cavity, just beneath the frontal lobes of the brain. This is called the olfactory area and is tightly packed with millions of small cells, the olfactory cells. Each olfactory cell has about a dozen fine hairs-cilia-which project into a layer of mucus. The mucus keeps the cilia moist and acts as a trap for odorous substances, while the cilia effectively enlarge the area of each olfactory cell and so increase our sensitivity to smells. -The mucus protects the olfactory epithelium and allows odors to dissolve so that they can be detected by olfactory receptor neurons. Each olfactory receptor cell is a primary sensory bipolar neuron. The average nasal cavity contains more than 100 million such neurons.

The olfactory neurons are unique because they are generated throughout life by the underlying basal cells. New receptor cells are generated approximately every 30-60 days. Olfactory nerve fibers channel these signals across the bone of the skull to the two olfactory bulbs in the brain, where the information is gathered, processed and then passed through a complicated circuitry of nerve endings to the cerebral cortex.

To be smelly a substance must give off particles of the chemical of which it is made. This type of substance is, in general, chemically complex. Simple chemical substances-such as salt- do not have a smell, or have only a faint trace. The particles of a substance must remain in the air in gas form in order to be swept into the nostrils and to the mucus surrounding the cilia. Once there, they must be able to dissolve in the mucus for the smelling apparatus to detect them. Those substances that give off gas easily-such as petrol-are usually very smelly as high concentrations of the chemicals are able to reach the cells. Wetness also heightens smells. As the water evaporates from the substance, it carries particles of the substance into the air. Perfumes are structured in such a way that they are chemically complex and give off gas easily The part of the brain that analyzes messages coming from the receiver cells in the nose is closely connected with the limbic system, that part of the brain that deals with emotions, mood and memory. It is called the primitive brain, sometimes even the smelling brain. The connection explains why smells are richly endowed with emotional significance SENSE OF TASTE

This sense adds color to the four basic tastes which our taste buds can recognize. Like smell, the taste mechanism is triggered of by the chemical content of substances in food and drink. Chemical particles are picked up in the mouth and converted into nerve impulses which are transmitted by nerves to the brain, where they are then interpreted. The taste buds are at the heart of this system. Studding the surface of the tongue are many small projections, called papillae. Inside these are the taste buds. An adult has about 9000 taste buds, mainly on the upper surface of the tongue, but there are also some on the palate and even the throat

Each taste bud consists of groups of receptor cells, and each of these has fine hair-like projections-called mierovilli-sticking out into the surface of the tongue through fine pores in the surface of the papilla. At the opposite end to this, the receptor cells link up with a network of verve fibers. The design of this network is complex, as there is a great deal of interlinking between nerve fibers and receptor cells. Two different nerve bundles, which make up the facial nerve and the glossopharyngeal nerve, carry the impulses to the brain. In order to be tasted, the chemicals must in liquid form. Dry food gives very little immediate sensation of taste, and only acquires its taste after being dissolved in saliva. At present, it is believed that the chemicals in the food alter the electrical charge on the surface of the receptor cells, which in turn cause a nerve impulse to be generated in the nerve fibers.

The two nerves carrying taste impulses from the tongue (the facial nerve or the glossopharyngeal nerve) first pass to the specialized cells in the brain stem. This area of the brain stem also acts as the first stop for other sensations coming from the mouth. After initial processing in this brain stem center, the taste impulses are transferred in a second set of fibers across to the other side of the brain stem and ascend to the thalamus. Further analysis of the taste impulses is carried out before information is passed to the part of the cerebral cortex participating in the actual conscious perception of taste.

The cortex also deals with other sensations-such as texture and temperature coming from the tongue. These sensations are probably mixed with the basic taste sensations from the tongue, and so produce the subtle sensation with which we are familiar. This analysis, carried out in the lower part of the parietal lobe in the cortex, is further influence by smell information being analyzed in the nearby temporal lobe. Much of the refinements of taste sensation are due to smell sensations.

The combination of the four types of taste buds responding to the basic tastes of salt, sour, bitter or sweet enable a wide range of sensations to be determined as the brain analyzes the relative strength of the basic flavors. Some of the stronger tastes, such as the hot flavor of spicy food come about through stimulation of pain-sensitive nerve endings in the tongue

Why we lose our sense of smell and taste when we have flu?
The cells that detect smell lie at the very top of the nose, and are connected to nerves that project straight into the brain. These receptor cells are directly exposed to the environment and can sustain damage. Nasal and sinus diseases are responsible for about 40 per cent of abnormalities of the sense of smell, and include infection, nasal polyps (swellings inside the nose) and allergic and nonallergic rhinitis (which cause the lining of the nose to become inflamed). These conditions interfere with smell sensation by both direct obstruction and also by inflaming the nasal lining