scholarly journals Cortical processing of chemosensory and hedonic features of taste in active licking mice

2020 ◽  
Vol 123 (5) ◽  
pp. 1995-2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia G. Bouaichi ◽  
Roberto Vincis
Keyword(s):  
Neural Dynamics ◽  
Cortical Processing ◽  
Gustatory Cortex ◽  
Basic Taste ◽  
Taste Processing

Relatively little information is available on the neural dynamics of taste processing in the mouse gustatory cortex (GC). In this study we investigate how the GC encodes chemosensory and palatability features of a wide panel of gustatory stimuli when actively sampled through licking. Our results show that GC neurons broadly encode basic taste qualities but also process taste hedonics and licking information in a temporally dynamic manner.

scholarly journals Cortical processing of chemosensory and hedonic features of taste in active licking mice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Bouaichi ◽  
Roberto Vincis
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Ratio ◽  
Stereotyped Behavior ◽  
Neural Dynamics ◽  
Ratio Schedule ◽  
Neural Processing ◽  
Fixed Ratio Schedule ◽  
Gustatory Cortex ◽  
Electrophysiological Recordings ◽  
Taste Processing ◽  
To Receive

ABSTRACTIn the last two decades, a considerable amount of work has been devoted to investigating the neural processing and dynamics of the primary taste cortex of rats. Surprisingly, much less information is available on cortical taste electrophysiology in awake mice, an animal model that is taking a more prominent role in taste research. Here we present electrophysiological evidence demonstrating how the gustatory cortex (GC) encodes information pertaining the basic taste qualities (sweet, salty, sour, and bitter) when stimuli are actively sampled through licking, the stereotyped behavior by which mice control the access of fluids in the mouth. Mice were trained to receive each stimulus on a fixed ratio schedule in which they had to lick a dry spout six times to receive a tastant on the seventh lick. Electrophysiological recordings confirmed that GC neurons encode both chemosensory and hedonic aspects of actively sampled tastants. In addition, our data revealed two other main findings; GC neurons encoded information about taste identity in as little as 120 ms. Consistent with the ability of GC neurons to rapidly encode taste information, nearly half of the recorded neurons exhibited spiking activity that was entrained to licking at rates up to 8 Hz. Overall, our results highlight how the GC of mice processes tastants when they are actively sensed through licking, reaffirming and expanding our knowledge on cortical taste processing.NEW & NOTEWORTHYRelatively little information is available on the neural dynamics of taste processing in the mouse gustatory cortex (GC). In this study we investigate how the GC encodes information of the qualities and hedonics of a broad panel of gustatory stimuli when tastants are actively sampled through licking. Our results show that the GC neurons broadly encode taste qualities but also process taste hedonics and licking information in a temporally dynamic manner.

scholarly journals Impact of precisely-timed inhibition of gustatory cortex on taste behavior depends on single-trial ensemble dynamics

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narendra Mukherjee ◽  
Joseph Wachutka ◽  
Donald B Katz
Keyword(s):  
Firing Rate ◽  
Network Model ◽  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Single Trial ◽  
Gustatory Cortex ◽  
Attractor Network ◽  
Population Analyses ◽  
Stimulus Perception ◽  
Taste Processing

Sensation and action are necessarily coupled during stimulus perception – while tasting, for instance, perception happens while an animal decides to expel or swallow the substance in the mouth (the former via a behavior known as ‘gaping’). Taste responses in the rodent gustatory cortex (GC) span this sensorimotor divide, progressing through firing-rate epochs that culminate in the emergence of action-related firing. Population analyses reveal this emergence to be a sudden, coherent and variably-timed ensemble transition that reliably precedes gaping onset by 0.2–0.3s. Here, we tested whether this transition drives gaping, by delivering 0.5s GC perturbations in tasting trials. Perturbations significantly delayed gaping, but only when they preceded the action-related transition - thus, the same perturbation impacted behavior or not, depending on the transition latency in that particular trial. Our results suggest a distributed attractor network model of taste processing, and a dynamical role for cortex in driving motor behavior.

Spatio-temporal correlates of taste processing in the human primary gustatory cortex

Neuroscience ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 273 ◽  
pp. 92-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Iannilli ◽  
N. Noennig ◽  
T. Hummel ◽  
A.M. Schoenfeld
Keyword(s):  
Gustatory Cortex ◽  
Taste Processing ◽  
Spatio Temporal

scholarly journals Dynamical structure of cortical taste responses revealed by precisely-timed optogenetic perturbation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narendra Mukherjee ◽  
Joseph Wachukta ◽  
Donald B Katz
Keyword(s):  
Network Model ◽  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Dynamical Structure ◽  
Gustatory Cortex ◽  
Attractor Network ◽  
Time Points ◽  
Population Analyses ◽  
Taste Processing

AbstractThe purpose of perception is driving action. During tasting, for instance, every stimulus must be either swallowed or rejected (the latter via a behavior known as “gaping”). Taste responses in the rodent primary gustatory cortex (GC) span this sensorimotor divide, progressing through a series of firing epochs that culminate in the emergence of action-related firing. Population analyses reveal this emergence to be a sudden, coherent ensemble transition that, despite varying in latency between trials, precedes gaping onset by 0.2-0.3s. Here, we tested whether this transition drives gaping, delivering 0.5s GC perturbations at various time-points in tasting trials. Perturbations significantly delayed gaping, but only when they preceded the action-related transition - thus, the same perturbation might have an impact or not, depending on the transition latency in that particular trial. Our results suggest a distributed attractor network model of taste processing, and a dynamical role for cortex in driving motor behavior.

scholarly journals Dynamic taste responses of parabrachial pontine neurons in awake rats

2016 ◽  
Vol 115 (3) ◽  
pp. 1314-1323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madelyn A. Baez-Santiago ◽  
Emily E. Reid ◽  
Anan Moran ◽  
Joost X. Maier ◽  
Yasmin Marrero-Garcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Action Potentials ◽  
Single Neuron ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Basic Taste ◽  
Taste Processing ◽  
Direct Input ◽  
Parabrachial Nuclei ◽  
And Control ◽  
Awake Rats

The parabrachial nuclei of the pons (PbN) receive almost direct input from taste buds on the tongue and control basic taste-driven behaviors. Thus it is reasonable to hypothesize that PbN neurons might respond to tastes in a manner similar to that of peripheral receptors, i.e., that these responses might be narrow and relatively “dynamics free.” On the other hand, the majority of the input to PbN descends from forebrain regions such as gustatory cortex (GC), which processes tastes with “temporal codes” in which firing reflects first the presence, then the identity, and finally the desirability of the stimulus. Therefore a reasonable alternative hypothesis is that PbN responses might be dominated by dynamics similar to those observed in GC. Here we examined simultaneously recorded single-neuron PbN (and GC) responses in awake rats receiving exposure to basic taste stimuli. We found that pontine taste responses were almost entirely confined to canonically identified taste-PbN (t-PbN). Taste-specificity was found, furthermore, to be time varying in a larger percentage of these t-PbN responses than in responses recorded from the tissue around PbN (including non-taste-PbN). Finally, these time-varying properties were a good match for those observed in simultaneously recorded GC neurons—taste-specificity appeared after an initial nonspecific burst of action potentials, and palatability emerged several hundred milliseconds later. These results suggest that the pontine taste relay is closely allied with the dynamic taste processing performed in forebrain.

scholarly journals Distinct representations of basic taste qualities in human gustatory cortex

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Junichi Chikazoe ◽  
Daniel H. Lee ◽  
Nikolaus Kriegeskorte ◽  
Adam K. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Gustatory Cortex ◽  
Basic Taste

Cortical processing of esophageal sensation is related to the representation of swallowing

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (S 1) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Dziewas ◽  
P Sörös ◽  
H Henningsen ◽  
B Ringelstein ◽  
S Knecht ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cortical Processing

Behavioural and EEG atypicalities during rest, visual perception, and cognitive control in autistic adults

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amandine Lassalle ◽  
Michael X Cohen ◽  
Laura Dekkers ◽  
Elizabeth Milne ◽  
Rasa Gulbinaite ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Perception ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Neural Dynamics ◽  
Simple Explanation ◽  
Control Task ◽  
Neural Structure ◽  
Eeg Power ◽  
Autistic Adults

Background: People with an Autism Spectrum Condition diagnosis (ASD) are hypothesized to show atypical neural dynamics, reflecting differences in neural structure and function. However, previous results regarding neural dynamics in autistic individuals have not converged on a single pattern of differences. It is possible that the differences are cognitive-set-specific, and we therefore measured EEG in autistic individuals and matched controls during three different cognitive states: resting, visual perception, and cognitive control.Methods: Young adults with and without an ASD (N=17 in each group) matched on age (range 20 to 30 years), sex, and estimated Intelligence Quotient (IQ) were recruited. We measured their behavior and their EEG during rest, a task requiring low-level visual perception of gratings of varying spatial frequency, and the “Simon task” to elicit activity in the executive control network. We computed EEG power and Inter-Site Phase Clustering (ISPC; a measure of connectivity) in various frequency bands.Results: During rest, there were no ASD vs. controls differences in EEG power, suggesting typical oscillation power at baseline. During visual processing, without pre-baseline normalization, we found decreased broadband EEG power in ASD vs. controls, but this was not the case during the cognitive control task. Furthermore, the behavioral results of the cognitive control task suggest that autistic adults were better able to ignore irrelevant stimuli.Conclusions: Together, our results defy a simple explanation of overall differences between ASD and controls, and instead suggest a more nuanced pattern of altered neural dynamics that depend on which neural networks are engaged.

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