Sensory Coding in Taste

味觉中的感官编码

• 批准号: 8038752
• 负责人: John D Boughter
• 金额: $ 28.31万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HEALTH SCI CTR
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 1985
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1985-09-01 至 2015-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8038752
• 关键词: Sensory; Coding; Taste

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Ingestive decisions play a key role in a number of human conditions including obesity, diabetes, anorexia, hypertension, and coronary artery disease. The sense of taste is the most important factor in regulating these ingestive decisions, and therefore plays an important role in human health. Research conducted over the last few decades shows that taste centers in the brain have direct reciprocal connections with brain areas involved in homeostasis and ingestion. Taste has also been shown to engage the reward system, and dysfunction in this system may lead to overeating and obesity. However, the exact route whereby taste information engages reward and ingestive brain areas is unclear. The parabrachial nucleus (PBN) is a critical relay in the brainstem where gustatory information diverges via several ascending pathways to access forebrain sites involved in sensory discrimination, learning, intake and visceral processing, as well as reward. The studies of this proposal will test the hypotheses that a projection from the PBN to the ventral tegmental area (VTA) mediates taste-evoked reward, and a projection from the PBN to the lateral hypothalamus (LH) mediates taste-evoked ingestion. We will use a combination of complementary anatomical, physiological, and behavioral techniques to address this hypothesis. We propose the following specific aims: Aim 1: Functional organization of the gustatory PBN in mice. We will collect comprehensive normative data establish the organization of this key nucleus in wild type and taste-impaired mice. Aim 2: Does a direct projection from the PBN to the VTA mediate taste-evoked reward? This hypothesis will be first be evaluated with tract tracing and taste-evoked fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI) techniques: We will investigate whether or not VTA-projecting neurons are activated preferentially by sweet-tasting, rewarding stimuli in intact or taste-blind mice. We will also physiologically characterizing taste neurons that project to VTA using in vivo recording techniques. Finally, we will test the hypothesis that the VTA is essential for normal reward, but not taste function, by combining lesions of this area with behavioral analysis. In Aim 3, we will use a similar set of approaches to address the hypothesis that a direct projection from the PBN to the LH mediates taste-evoked ingestion, including tract tracing and taste-evoked FLI, in vivo physiology, and lesions of LH followed by measurement of behavior. We will utilize taste-blind trpm5 null mice in these experiments in order to separate effects of taste vs. post-ingestive feedback. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Ingestive decisions play a key role in a number of human conditions including obesity, diabetes, anorexia, hypertension, and coronary artery disease. The sense of taste is the most important factor in regulating these ingestive decisions, and therefore plays an important role in human health. The goal of this research is to elucidate pathways in the brain that link taste to feeding and reward.

描述（由申请人提供）：摄取决策在许多人类状况中起着关键作用，包括肥胖，糖尿病，厌食症，高血压和冠状动脉疾病。品味感是调节这些摄入决策的最重要因素，因此在人类健康中起着重要作用。在过去的几十年中进行的研究表明，大脑中的味觉中心与涉及体内稳态和摄入的大脑区域具有直接的相互联系。味道也已被证明可以吸引奖励系统，并且该系统的功能障碍可能导致暴饮暴食和肥胖。但是，尚不清楚味觉信息与奖励和摄入的大脑区域相关的确切途径。副核（PBN）是脑干中的关键继电器，在脑干中，味觉信息通过多种升级途径发散，以访问参与感觉歧视，学习，摄入和内脏处理的前脑位点，以及奖励。该提案的研究将检验以下假设：从PBN到腹侧对接区域（VTA）的投影介导了味道引起的奖励，并且PBN对下丘脑（LH）的投影介导了味道诱发的摄入。我们将结合互补的解剖，生理和行为技术来解决这一假设。我们提出以下特定目标：目标1：小鼠糖PBN的功能组织。我们将收集全面的规范数据，以建立在野生型和味觉损坏的小鼠中的这一关键核的组织。目标2：PBN直接投射到VTA中介导了诱人的奖励？首先，将通过道路跟踪和味觉引起的FOS样免疫反应性（FLI）技术对该假设进行评估：我们将研究是否通过甜食性刺激在完整或味觉的小鼠中优先激活VTA射击神经元。我们还将在生理上表征使用体内记录技术向VTA投射的味觉神经元的表征。最后，我们将通过将该区域的病变与行为分析相结合，即VTA对于正常奖励而不是味觉功能至关重要的假设。在AIM 3中，我们将采用类似的方法来解决以下假设：PBN对LH的直接投影介导了味觉引起的摄入，包括散发性捕获和味觉引起的FLI，体内生理学以及LH病变，LH的病变进行了测量。在这些实验中，我们将利用味道盲小鼠味，以分离口味与产后反馈的影响。 公共卫生相关性：摄取决策在许多人类状况中起着关键作用，包括肥胖，糖尿病，厌食，高血压和冠状动脉疾病。品味感是调节这些摄入决策的最重要因素，因此在人类健康中起着重要作用。这项研究的目的是阐明大脑中的途径将品味与进食和奖励联系起来。