Neural Processing of Amino Acid Taste Information

氨基酸味觉信息的神经处理

• 批准号: 8819772
• 负责人: John Caprio
• 金额: $ 26.12万
• 依托单位: Louisiana State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1990
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1990-01-01 至 1993-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=8819772&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Neural; Processing; Amino; Acid; Taste

A fundamental issue of taste physiology is whether there are specific types of responses in specific nerve fibers, or whether there is a continuum of sensitivities across the population of fibers. This project exploits the remarkable taste system of the catfish, which has taste buds all over the skin of the body, to investigate the physiology of taste responses to particular compounds and to particular mixtures. Electrophysiological recording will be used to determine how amino acid taste "quality" and quantity (intensity) are represented in neurons of the facial nerve, which innervates the taste buds. Since in real life taste receptors rarely encounter sequentially spaced delivery of single chemicals, stimuli will include single compounds and mixtures, to see whether, as in invertebrates, responses to taste mixtures are not simply predictable from responses to the individual components. Recordings also will be made in the cells of central pathways that process the taste information through the brainstem and higher gustatory nuclei. This unusual preparation has provided a wealth of fundamental information on taste sensitivity already, and this project will provide results that are likely to have high impact on gustatory research. This physiology also will complement current exciting work on taste biochemistry, and the analyses of complex stimuli are likely to be important to sensory science in general.

味觉生理学的一个基本问题是，在特定的神经纤维中是否存在特定类型的反应，或者在纤维群中是否存在连续的敏感性。这个项目利用鲶鱼非凡的味觉系统，它的味蕾遍布全身的皮肤，来研究对特定化合物和特定混合物的味觉反应的生理学。电生理记录将用于确定氨基酸味道的“质量”和数量（强度）是如何在控制味蕾的面神经神经元中表现出来的。由于在现实生活中，味觉感受器很少遇到按顺序间隔递送的单一化学物质，刺激将包括单一化合物和混合物，以观察是否像无脊椎动物一样，对味觉混合物的反应不是简单地从对单个成分的反应中预测出来的。通过脑干和高级味觉核处理味觉信息的中枢通路的细胞也会进行记录。这种不寻常的制备已经提供了丰富的关于味觉敏感性的基本信息，这个项目将提供可能对味觉研究产生重大影响的结果。这种生理学也将补充当前令人兴奋的味觉生物化学工作，对复杂刺激的分析可能对一般的感觉科学很重要。