Sixth Sense: The Vomeronasal Organ Essay

1. describes how a range of factors have a negative and positive impact on individuals with sensory loss.

Often, we do not realize just how important our taste and smell senses are to every day life. We go about our day and do the normal human thing. We sleep, eat, shower, get dressed, go to school, work, etc. What if our sense of taste and smell were taken away? How would it change these every day routines? If there were a house fire while we were sleeping and we could not smell the smoke, what would happen? What if we could not taste or smell the food we were eating? What if we could not smell if our bodies were clean when we showered? As a nurse, what if I could not smell a foul odor in regards to urine or

Smell, on the other hand, is the sense that comes from odor molecules attaching to the olfactory nerve. Air carries the odor into the nose. Then odor contacts the olfactory nerves at the top of the nasal passages. The the olfactory nerves send a signal to the olfactory bulb of the brain, and the nerve sends a signal to the front of the brain. The forebrain translates the signals of the odor into a specific smell (Swindle, Mark).

These receptors record on a extensive form of sensory modalities including changes in temperature, stress, touch, sound, mild, style, odor, physique and limb actions, and even blood pressure and chemistry. Scientists have recognized for nearly a hundred thirty years that distinct afferent nerve fibers of the peripheral nervous procedure are in contact with specialized non neural receptive buildings which realize and transmit sensory knowledge from the periphery to the Central Nervous System. The non neural receptive structure in conjunction with its afferent nerve fiber is mainly called a

When people have any sensory loss, then their mobility and communication are greatly affected. This can lead to increased loneliness and even isolation in some cases.

20. Some researchers think pheromones are important tools in human communication. Pheromones are chemical signals that one individual sends to another. What research questions might be asked by anatomists and what questions might be asked by physiologists to determine if pheromones are important to humans?

Decreased interest in olfaction may be related to early work which contrasted varying levels of olfactory abilities among animals, highlighting primates as deficient in this sense. In Turner’s 1891 paper The Convolutions of the Brain, he proposed a classification of Mammalia into three groups 1) Anasmotics, where the organs of smell are absent and included dolphins and whales, 2) Macrosmatics, defined by animals with a highly developed sense of smell and included ungulates, carnivores and most mammals, and 3) Microsmatics where the sense of smell is “feeble” as in pinnipeds, some whales, and apes and man. This idea of apes and humans, indeed, primates in general having a poor sense of smell was corroborated by Negus in 1958 and Le

Senses airborne chemical molecules • Related to memories & emotions • Consists of 10 million rods embedded in the olfactory epithelium – responding to different chemicals

Smells connection to emotion was also discussed, it turned out to be molecules with receptor signals capable of triggering memory through the olfactory part of our brain and the hippocampus, the site of memory

Six different hormones produced by the anterior lobe will be studied here. Three of these have direct effects on the body, the other three control other glands.

Their CT scans showed that the tiny brain housed in the ancient skull actually had a plethora of wrinkles and folds, indicating a vastly complex brain. In addition to the many wrinkles and folds, however, another stunning discovery was made. The 3-D model showed that the olfactory bulb, which is the part of the brain used to perceive and interpret smells, was actually quite large. It had a size that was three times bigger than expected of a primate of that size, indicating that its sense of smell was highly elevated compared to primates of today. In comparison, primates of today have much larger brains, but much smaller olfactory bulbs. It is believed that this is due to a trade-off that occurred as sight improved over time. The researchers believe that this means that the ancient primate that the 15-million-year-old monkey skull belonged to qu ite possibly did not have to make such a trade-off and instead had held on to both

Smell is one of the five basic human senses. Smell is a powerful sense with many abilities. Smell can alert people to potential dangers. Smell brings variety into the world. In addition to these, smell also has one very special ability. Smell can instantly draw memories out of a person.

Nerve cells are known to receive an initial signal, propagate it, and ultimately deliver it to an effector cell. This passage of information is very complex and the slightest derailment can cause the entire cascade to cease. In the articles, "Effects of the Hormone Kisspeptin on Reproductive Hormone Release in Humans" and "Pacemaking Kisspeptin Neurons" the Kisspeptin neuron as well as its associated neurons and messengers are discussed. The articles mainly serve to define the Kisspeptin nerve’s main role in puberty and reproduction, whereas previously the nerve was mostly researched in regard to its effect on tumors. The articles also discuss the cause and result of related health problems

T F 1. Generally when one loses his/her sense of smell, he/she also loses the sense