The integrating mechanism of taste and smell;toward the improvement of ingesting functions for elderly people.

嗅觉可以调节味觉信息的加工。岛叶皮质不仅处理味觉，还处理嗅觉。然而，这些感官输入是如何集成到IC中的信息却很少。本研究旨在研究同时刺激丘脑腹后内侧核(VPMPC)和嗅球(OB)的小细胞部在IC内兴奋性传播的时空动力学。我们用电压敏感染料进行活体光学成像，除无颗粒区(AI)外，刺激OB或VPMPC的兴奋区被分离。AI中的兴奋信号对OB和VPMPC表现出同时刺激的相加效应。我们的数据提出了味觉和气味感觉的部分整合在人工智能中进行的可能性。这些结果表明，人工智能可能在味觉和嗅觉信息的整合中发挥作用。

Gustatory information processing could be modulated by olfaction. Not only gustation but also olfaction are processed in the insular cortex(IC). However, little information is available how these sensory inputs are integrated in the IC. The present study, aimed to examine the spatiotemporal dynamics of excitatory propagation in the IC induced by simultaneous stimulation of the parvicellular part of ventroposteromedial thalamic nucleus(VPMpc) and olfactory bulb(OB). We performed in vivo optical imaging with a voltage sensitive dye.The excitatory regions by stimulating the either OB or VPMpc were segregated except for the agranular region(AI). The excitatory signals in the AI showed an additive effect of simultaneous stimulations to the OB and VPMpc. Our data raise the possibility that a part of integration of gustatory and odor sense were carried out in AI. These results suggest that the AI may play a role in integrating the gustatory and olfactory information.