chemoreceptor

n. a sensory nerve ending, such as any of those in the taste buds or olfactory epithelium, that is capable of reacting to certain chemical stimuli. The chemical molecule or electrolyte generally must be in a solution to be detected by the chemoreceptors for taste; it must be volatile to be detected by those involved in smell. In humans, there are hundreds of different taste receptor proteins and a total of about 300,000 taste cells, with some taste receptors reacting only to certain stimuli, such as those producing a bitter taste. Humans also have about 1,000 types of olfactory receptors and about 1,000 receptors of each type, giving a total of one million olfactory receptors; other mammals (e.g., dogs) may have ten times that number. The relation between specific olfactory stimuli and particular olfactory receptors is still being debated.

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Psychology term of the day

March 17th 2025

enactment

1. the acting out of an important life event rather than expressing it in words. See psychodrama.

2. in some forms of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, the patient’s reliving of past relationships in the transference relationship with the therapist and, conversely, the therapist’s move away from active neutrality to unwittingly intertwine personal issues into symbolic interactions with the patient (a countertransference phenomenon). Attunement to the relational patterns that emerge in this therapeutic relationship offers the therapist an opportunity to help the patient acknowledge and work through similar patterns in the patient’s relationships with others. See also relational psychoanalysis; self psychology.

3. in some forms of couples therapy, a technique in which the therapist recreates areas of conflict between partners in order to facilitate bonding moments.

4. see structural family therapy.