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Sensory Science: The Senses

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Sensory Science: The Senses

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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.9

15 reviews

Beginner level
No prior experience required
1 week to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.9

15 reviews

Beginner level
No prior experience required
1 week to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

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Assessments

4 assignments

Taught in English

Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Essentials of Sensory Science Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
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  • Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
  • Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
  • Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 4 modules in this course

Humans are amazing sensors! This course will help you understand our sensing capabilities including taste, olfaction, tactile senses, vision, and audition. The course will explain at a high-level the anatomy, physiology, and chemistry of the senses and give you an appreciation of how senses are transmitted to, and experienced by, the brain. You’ll learn by experience to assess cases such as dysfunctions in olfaction or tactile temperature adaptation. Optional podcast conversations with experts in the field are included each week to provide additional insight on our senses and sensory research.

In this module, we will begin our discussion on the senses starting with taste. We will also discuss primary tastes, anatomy, physiology, and chemistry of taste. We will then touch on transducer and neural effects including receptor types, stimulus-receptor transducer mechanisms, neural channels, neural codes, and cortical cell types and mechanisms. We will do an activity on taste adaptation and finish the module with an optional podcast conversation with Joel Sidel. Let's get started.

What's included

11 videos7 readings1 assignment4 discussion prompts

11 videosβ€’Total 53 minutes
  • Course Introductionβ€’5 minutes
  • Module Introductionβ€’1 minute
  • Taste - One of the Chemical Sensesβ€’6 minutes
  • Taste Anatomy: Taste Budsβ€’5 minutes
  • Taste Nerve Systemβ€’2 minutes
  • Taste Transductionβ€’10 minutes
  • Taste Adaptationβ€’4 minutes
  • Mixture Effects, Inhibition and Synergyβ€’7 minutes
  • Trigeminal Chemical Sensitivityβ€’5 minutes
  • Taste Sensitivityβ€’3 minutes
  • Basic Tasteβ€’4 minutes
7 readingsβ€’Total 181 minutes
  • Course Navigation and Safety Statementβ€’1 minute
  • Taste Adaptation Activityβ€’15 minutes
  • Selected Sensory Demonstration Activities (Optional)β€’30 minutes
  • (Optional) Podcast: A Conversation with Joel Sidelβ€’45 minutes
  • Receptors and Transduction in Tasteβ€’30 minutes
  • Two Decades of Supertasting: Where do we Stand?β€’20 minutes
  • The Human Preference for Excess Saltβ€’40 minutes
1 assignmentβ€’Total 30 minutes
  • Module 1 Quizβ€’30 minutes
4 discussion promptsβ€’Total 50 minutes
  • Learning Goalsβ€’10 minutes
  • Taste Adaptation Activity Resultsβ€’15 minutes
  • Selected Sensory Demonstration Activities Resultsβ€’15 minutes
  • (Optional Forum) Podcast: Joel Sidelβ€’10 minutes

In this module, we will continue discussing the senses focusing on olfaction and the tactile sensations. We will discuss the chemical nature of odorous stimuli, the anatomy of the olfactory system, and smell transduction. Let's begin.

What's included

6 videos2 readings1 assignment

6 videosβ€’Total 22 minutes
  • Module Introductionβ€’2 minutes
  • Smell: The Chemical Nature of Odorous Stimuliβ€’3 minutes
  • Olfactory System Anatomyβ€’4 minutes
  • Smell Transductionβ€’3 minutes
  • Perception of Smellβ€’6 minutes
  • Classification of Odorsβ€’3 minutes
2 readingsβ€’Total 85 minutes
  • A Novel Mutigene Family May Encode Odorant Receptors: A Molecular Basis for Odor Recognitionβ€’45 minutes
  • Combinatorial Receptor Codes for Odorsβ€’40 minutes
1 assignmentβ€’Total 15 minutes
  • Module 2 Quizβ€’15 minutes

In this module, we will discuss retronasal olfaction versus orthonasal olfaction, dysfunctions in olfaction, and the basic system to describe the tactile senses. We will also do an activity on temperature adaptation. This module will end with an optional podcast conversation with Dr. Ann Noble. Let's begin.

What's included

4 videos4 readings1 assignment2 discussion prompts

4 videosβ€’Total 25 minutes
  • Stereochemical Theory: Lock and keyβ€’3 minutes
  • Adaptationβ€’2 minutes
  • Orthonasal and Retronasal Olfactionβ€’4 minutes
  • Tactile Sensations, Cutaneous Perceptionβ€’16 minutes
4 readingsβ€’Total 69 minutes
  • Temperature Adaptation Activityβ€’15 minutes
  • (Optional) Podcast: A Conversation Dr. Ann Nobleβ€’34 minutes
  • Predicting the Handle and Comfort of Military Clothing Fabrics from Sensory and Instrumental Dataβ€’10 minutes
  • Odorant Shape and Vibration Likely Lead to Olfaction Satisfactionβ€’10 minutes
1 assignmentβ€’Total 15 minutes
  • Module 3 Quizβ€’15 minutes
2 discussion promptsβ€’Total 20 minutes
  • Temperature Adaptation Activity Resultsβ€’10 minutes
  • (Optional Forum) Podcast: Dr. Ann Nobleβ€’10 minutes

In this final module, we will continue discussing the senses focusing on vision and audition. At the end of the lesson, you will be able to describe the parts of the eye and parts of the retina. We will explain how receptor functions work, describe how to explain optical illusions, and go through aspects of depth perception. Finally, we will go into concepts surrounding hearing anatomy, transduction and adaptation. We will finish off this module with an optional podcast conversation with Dr. Armand Cardello.

What's included

10 videos3 readings1 assignment3 discussion prompts

10 videosβ€’Total 45 minutes
  • Module Introductionβ€’1 minute
  • The Anatomy of the Eyeβ€’8 minutes
  • The Receptorsβ€’4 minutes
  • Visual Areas of the Brainβ€’2 minutes
  • Optical Illusionsβ€’7 minutes
  • Depth Perceptionβ€’3 minutes
  • Color Perceptionβ€’7 minutes
  • Hearing: Auditionβ€’4 minutes
  • Hearing Transduction and Adaptationβ€’7 minutes
  • Course Summaryβ€’2 minutes
3 readingsβ€’Total 115 minutes
  • (Optional) Podcast: A Conversation with Dr. Armand Cardelloβ€’45 minutes
  • Chemesthesis: Pungency as a Component of Flavorβ€’30 minutes
  • Sound Perception and Food Qualityβ€’40 minutes
1 assignmentβ€’Total 30 minutes
  • Module 4 Quizβ€’30 minutes
3 discussion promptsβ€’Total 30 minutes
  • (Optional Forum) Podcast: Dr. Armand Cardelloβ€’10 minutes
  • Influences on Sensory Evaluation Studiesβ€’10 minutes
  • Self-Reflectionβ€’10 minutes

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Instructor

University of California, Davis
4 Coursesβ€’6,230 learners

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NK
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Reviewed on Feb 11, 2025

Very informative course to gain depth of Sensory knowledge.

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