14: Human Senses

Students explain the biochemical basis of taste, smell, hearing, sight, and touch perception.

LibreTexts reference: Unit 4, Chapter 1: Biochemistry of Our Senses

Matching Sensory Modalities to Receptor Cell Types

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Match each of the following sensory modalities with their corresponding primary receptor cell types.
Note: Each choice will be used exactly once.

	Your Choice	Prompt
	Drop Your Choice Here	1. Smell (olfaction)
	Drop Your Choice Here	2. Vision
	Drop Your Choice Here	3. Touch (pressure, vibration)
	Drop Your Choice Here	4. Hearing (audition)
	Drop Your Choice Here	5. Taste (gustation)

Drag one of the choices below:

• A. Mechanoreceptors (skin, e.g., Pacinian corpuscles)
• B. Olfactory receptor neurons (odorant GPCRs)
• C. Inner ear hair cells (mechanoreceptors)
• D. Rod and cone photoreceptors (opsin + retinal)
• E. Taste receptor cells in taste buds (chemoreceptors)

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Matching Sensory Signal Transduction Components to Functions

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Match each of the following sensory transduction components with their corresponding functions in signaling.
Note: Each choice will be used exactly once.

	Your Choice	Prompt
	Drop Your Choice Here	1. cAMP
	Drop Your Choice Here	2. IP3
	Drop Your Choice Here	3. Golf
	Drop Your Choice Here	4. Tip link (hair cell bundle)
	Drop Your Choice Here	5. Rhodopsin
	Drop Your Choice Here	6. Adenylyl cyclase (AC3)
	Drop Your Choice Here	7. Phosphodiesterase 6 (PDE6)
	Drop Your Choice Here	8. Transducin

Drag one of the choices below:

• A. Molecule that opens IP₃ receptors on internal Ca²⁺ stores
• B. Structure whose tension changes during stereocilia deflection
• C. Light-activated GPCR in rod photoreceptors
• D. Heterotrimeric G protein used in olfactory GPCR pathways
• E. G protein that activates PDE6 in rod phototransduction
• F. Signaling molecule that helps open olfactory CNG channels
• G. Enzyme that lowers cGMP concentration during phototransduction
• H. Enzyme that converts ATP to cAMP in olfactory neurons

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Matching Taste Qualities to Stimuli

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Match each of the following taste qualities with their corresponding stimuli.
Note: Each choice will be used exactly once.

	Your Choice	Prompt
	Drop Your Choice Here	1. Sour
	Drop Your Choice Here	2. Sweet
	Drop Your Choice Here	3. Salty
	Drop Your Choice Here	4. Bitter

Drag one of the choices below:

• A. high sodium ion concentration from dissolved NaCl in snack foods
• B. high proton concentration, low pH, typical of lemon juice
• C. denatonium, a compound used to discourage accidental ingestion
• D. simple saccharides commonly used as cellular energy sources

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True/False Statements About Chemosensation (Smell and Taste)

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Which one of the following statements is FALSE regarding chemosensation (smell and taste)?

• A. Salty taste commonly involves ion movement through channels rather than GPCR signaling.
• B. A signaling cascade can amplify a small input into a larger cellular response.
• C. Many odorant receptors are GPCRs expressed in olfactory sensory neurons.
• D. Taste transduction bypasses synapses and directly activates the cortex.
• E. Olfactory sensory neurons typically express one olfactory receptor gene.

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True/False Statements About Sensory Coding (Smell vs. Taste)

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Which one of the following statements is TRUE of sensory coding principles (smell vs taste)?

• A. Bitter taste does NOT use receptors and occurs only by diffusion into taste cells.
• B. Coexpression of multiple bitter receptors in the same taste cells reduces the ability to label many separate bitter stimuli.
• C. Each olfactory sensory neuron expresses many different olfactory receptor genes at the same time.
• D. Odor identity is determined mainly by odorant concentration, NOT by receptor activation patterns.
• E. Olfactory signals are mixed into a single channel before the brain, which prevents odor discrimination.

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True/False Statements About Vision and Hearing Transduction

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Which one of the following statements is TRUE concerning vision and hearing transduction?

• A. Hair cells send action potentials down the cochlea without neurotransmitter release.
• B. Hair cells depolarize mainly because Na⁺ enters from endolymph through ENaC channels.
• C. Rod CNG channels close when cGMP levels fall.
• D. phosphodiesterase (PDE) terminates signals by producing cGMP in the outer segment.
• E. Cones are more sensitive to dim light than rods.

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Receptor Cell Types from Sensory Modalities

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Which one of the following sensory modalities correspond to the primary receptor cell type 'Taste receptor cells that detect chemicals in food'.

• A. Balance (vestibular)
• B. Smell (olfaction)
• C. Taste (gustation)
• D. Touch (pressure, vibration)
• E. Vision

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Sensory Signal Transduction Components from Functional Descriptions

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Which one of the following sensory transduction components correspond to the function in signaling 'G protein that activates PDE6 in rod phototransduction'.

• A. G_olf
• B. Mechanotransduction channel (hair cell MET channel)
• C. Olfactory receptor (GPCR)
• D. Phosphodiesterase 6 (PDE6)
• E. TRPM5
• F. Tip link (hair cell bundle)
• G. Transducin
• H. cAMP

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Taste Qualities from Stimuli

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Which one of the following taste qualities correspond to the stimulus 'L-glutamate released when proteins are broken down during digestion'.

• A. Bitter
• B. Sour
• C. Sweet
• D. Umami

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